From a Woman's Point of View
by natashaheisenburg
Summary: COMPLETE. Quan Chi turned Sub-zero into a woman! This is his journey to regain his manhood. On his way, he meets Scorpion. What will happen? EDIT: Chp 15-16 rewritten.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

"Why are you even here?" the blue-clad warrior asked the man in front of him. He locked his eyes with his enemy's. The two stared each other down, but neither of them flinched or backed off. His blue eyes were looking for the answer in the sorcerer's eyes. The man smirked.

"I am here to conduct a little experiment." He replied coolly.

"And what does this 'little experiment' have to do with me?" he asked. He could no longer defend himself. He was on the ground, clutching his side. Blood was oozing from the wound the man's broadswords inflicted. "Quan Chi…I have no idea what you have in mind for me but I do not intend to cooperate."

The man laughed hollowly.

"Sub-zero." Quan Chi said while shaking his head. "You don't have to do anything."

"So just get on with it and kill me!" his responses were usually cold and calm but the situation made his temper burst into flames.

Quan Chi laughed again.

"Temper, temper." He merely said in his cold voice. "Well, since you are just kneeling there clutching your side, I'll get on with it then. I hope you survive Sub-zero. If you do, I'll let you go." He smirked.

Sub-zero snarled at him.

Quan Chi started to utter words quickly in such a low voice that Sub-zero couldn't understand what he was saying.

A minute had passed and Sub-zero thought of escaping. He tried moving his legs but found that he couldn't. At that moment, Quan Chi finally finished his chant. The wind stopped blowing and their surroundings became quiet.

A smug look appeared on Sub-zero's face.

"Nothing happened, Quan Chi." He said mockingly. To his surprise, a grin formed on Quan Chi's face.

"Yet." He said in a low voice. Just then, Sub-zero felt an intense pain shoot out from all parts of his body. He screamed out in pain. He felt as if his body was on fire. Quan Chi broadened his grin sadistically. Sub-zero continued screaming for what he believed was about half an hour and finally, when the "fire" died down, he collapsed.

**A/N: This is my first ever fanfic!! Review and review**

**Sorry for the short chapter! the next one will be longer :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here it is. A looooonnngggeerr chapter XD XD**

**Even though Subbie's already female here in this chapter, i still used "he" for consistency. I'll be using "she" in the next chapters. Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 2**

Sub-zero woke up, his head was pounding. He looked up at the sky, it was afternoon. He sighed. The gash on his left side was no longer painful. Quan Chi had let him go, which meant that his 'little experiment' was a success. He sighed again.

"What in the world happened?" He heard a female voice say. He froze. He wasn't alone. He surveyed his surroundings. He saw nothing. He sighed again. "I must be losing my mind." The same voice said. His eyes widened. He looked down, and, as sure as Raiden was the Thunder God, there were two bumps on his chest. He stood up and ran down to the nearest river, vaguely aware that his clothes were loose and too large for him. He looked at his reflection. What he saw made his eyes almost pop out of their sockets. A woman was staring back at him. She had long bluish white hair, pale skin and deep blue eyes.

_No, no, no, no, no!_ he mentally shouted. _This can't be happening! _His, or rather, her breath came out in short gasps.

"Damn Quan Chi to the pits of Netherrealm!" he shouted to the thick foliage surrounding him. He sat down and took a deep breath.

"Okay Sub-zero. What are you going to do?" he said to himself. What _would _he do? Nobody knew that he was here in the woods. He was a woman. His outfit was too loose for him to wear. He couldn't just go back to the Lin Kuei temple wearing nothing. His thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of the bushes behind him. It made him jump. He wrapped his outfit around him. "Who's there?"

"What is a woman doing in the forest all alone?" A familiar voice asked. A man emerged from the bushes. His red blind fold was being caressed by the light wind.

"Kenshi?" he blurted out.

"You seem to know me, but I am afraid I do not know who you are." Kenshi replied. Kenshi somehow looked different to Sub-zero. Had he always been so good looking? He stared at his face for a long time before he realized what he was thinking. He shook his head.

"Kenshi! It's me! Sub-zero!" Sub-zero told him. Kenshi arched an eyebrow. Clearly, he was skeptical.

"Last time I checked, Sub-zero was male ma'am."

Sub-zero cringed at his reply.

"Yes you are absolutely right. He WAS male." Sub-zero emphasized the past tense. He flinched again. Kenshi looked straight at him. He took a step forward and touched his face. Sub-zero held his breath. After a few moments, Kenshi withdrew his hand and pushed his eyebrows together.

"What in the name of the Elder Gods happened to you?" He asked. Sub-zero sighed in relief. Kenshi believed him. He patted the ground beside him. Kenshi sat down and faced him.

"Well, to make the story short, Quan Chi turned me into a woman." He answered. Kenshi nodded and opened his mouth to speak. He cut him off. "I have no idea why he turned me into one. I just woke up and here I am."

Kenshi nodded again.

"By the way, what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I have some business to attend to." Kenshi replied vaguely. Sub-zero was curious, but he didn't want to force the story out of Kenshi.

"Kenshi, I need your help." Sub-zero frowned. He hated feeling weak. He never had to rely on other people. However, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"If it is in my power, I will do it Sub-zero." He replied.

"Thanks. Don't worry it's not that hard. I just need you to buy some clothes for me in the nearest shop. Nothing fancy, just something…to cover my body."

"All right. But I cannot assure you that I can retrieve something nice to wear. In case you haven't noticed, I'm actually blind." Kenshi grinned. "Don't worry, I'll manage." He then stood up and left.

Sub-zero waited patiently for Kenshi. He looked at his reflection one more time and sighed.

"At least he turned me into a beautiful woman." He said to himself. He wondered how his clan would receive him. He grinned at the image of his guard stopping him in the entrance. He then thought of his other comrades. How would Sonya and the others react to this? How would Scorpion react to this? He shuddered. He could almost hear his taunts.

"I got your clothes." Kenshi appeared out of nowhere, or so Sub-zero thought. "I think it may look normal."

Sub-zero laughed at his comment and looked at the clothes he bought for him. It looked almost the same as his original outfit, except it was smaller. He changed into them as quickly as he could. It took him five minutes to put the brassiere on properly. He put his mask on last. He left his trident off since it would be odd for a woman to be wearing one.

"Will you be accompanying me to the Lin Kuei palace or do you have some things to attend to?" Sub-zero asked the blind warrior.

Kenshi smiled.

"I'm sorry. Maybe another day." He replied. Sub-zero smiled and hugged his friend. He was slightly smaller than Kenshi, well, at least now he was. Kenshi ran his hand through Sub-zero's hair.

"You have really soft hair." Kenshi chuckled.

It made him blush. _Damned female hormones!_ He mentally screamed.

Kenshi let him go and turned around and walked away while waving good-bye. He then stopped abruptly and turned. He was wearing a huge grin on his face. Sub-zero looked at him quizzically.

"You really are pretty." Kenshi laughed and Sub-zero flushed.

"I thought you were blind!" Sub-zero shouted at him. He was blushing furiously and was glad that Kenshi couldn't see.

"I am! I 'see' how people look like when I touch their faces." He smirked. "I can imagine how your face looks like now. You're probably blushing right now." He then laughed and dodged the iceball Sub-zero had thrown toward his direction. He walked away, still laughing.

Sub-zero stared at his retreating figure until he was gone. He shook his head and turned to the opposite direction and went off in search of a portal that would lead him back to Arctika.

**A/N: So? How'd you like it? Review!!**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

_Note: Sub-zero will be called a 'she' from now on._

Sub-zero trudged along the path. She had no idea how she was going to go back to the Lin Kuei palace. She sighed. She looked straight ahead as she passed a bar full of drunken men.

"Hey cutie!" one of them shouted at her. She just kept her eyes on the path.

"Come now cutie! Come have a drink with us!" another one slurred. They got up from their stools and stopped Sub-zero in her tracks. One touched Sub-zero's face. She slapped his hand away. He laughed manically. "Don't be like that cutie!" he said.

"I swear if you call me cutie one more time…!" she left the threat hanging. The men laughed once more. One of them leaned towards her and breathed on her face. She could smell his breath; it smelled like putrid corpses. It almost made her hurl. She shook her head and punched him squarely on the face. He was thrown backward.

"Why you little…" one of them started but was cut off when a bolt of lightning hit right in front of them. Sub-zero closed her eyes when another one struck. She opened her eyes when she thought it was safe. She was astonished at what she saw. There, standing in front of her, in all his glory, was Raiden, the Thunder God. Behind him, the men were all lying down, unconscious. He turned around and smiled at her warmly. She gave him an incredulous look.

"Hello, I thought you might need some help." He said amiably. "Those men were just Black Dragon thugs. Are you all right, milady?" Raiden asked. Sub-zero snapped out of it.

"Raiden!" she cried in joy. _Finally, somebody who can transport me,_ she thought. Raiden looked surprised.

"How do you know my name milady?" He asked, still smiling warmly.

"You're the Thunder God, everybody knows who you are." She blurted out.

Raiden's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Yes, I am aware that people know who I am." Raiden said boldly.

Sub-zero resisted the impulse to roll her eyes.

"However," he surveyed Sub-zero from top to bottom. "only few actually know how I look like."

At first Sub-zero couldn't understand why he didn't recognize her. Just then, she remembered that she was actually a SHE. She laughed awkwardly. Raiden was still looking at her, waiting for a response.

"Er…"

Raiden furrowed his eyebrows in impatience.

"Well, you see…" she sighed and let her shoulders slump. "I'm Sub-zero." Raiden looked at her only a little surprised.

"You know, you have the same name as one of our comrades." At that response, Sub-zero's patience was ripped to pieces. She took a step forward and seized Raiden's robes and shook it. There were no words to express the confusion on Raiden's face.

Sub-zero knew what was running through his mind. 'Just who is this woman? Why in the name of the Elder Gods is she seizing me by my collar and shaking me?' But, by now, she could care less about what Raiden was thinking.

"What part of 'I am Sub-zero' did you not understand?" she screamed at him. Then, Raiden's expression melted into shock.

"But…Sub-zero was a guy…" he said feebly.

"Well, he WAS a guy." she emphasized the past tense just as he had done with Kenshi.

"Dear Elder Gods." Raiden looked at her as if she suddenly became Baraka.

She let go of Raiden and sighed. "Raiden, I need your help." She eyed him. Raiden still looked dazed, as if he still couldn't grasp what she was saying.

"Wha-oh…You need me to transport you back to Arctika…don't worry, I'll help you."

She smiled in relief.

"Thanks Raiden." She said as Raiden muttered a few words and a portal opened up in front of her. Raiden smiled in response and Sub-zero stepped in the portal.

Sub-zero stepped out of the portal. She took a deep breath. She was back in Arctika. She mused over what would happen. Will her guards ever let her in? What in the world was she going to do? She walked through the snowy path. After walking for about half an hour, the Lin Kuei palace was finally in his line of sight. She continued on until she reached the gate. As she expected, the guard stopped her.

"Halt!" he said as two of them crossed their spears.

"Let me pass." She said authoritatively. Still the guards didn't move.

"We do not let intruders pass. Our Grandmaster is not yet here, I suggest you stay out here until he comes back." The other one replied. She sighed.

"I am Sub-zero." She said exasperatedly.

"Nice try sweetheart, but the Grandmaster is actually a man." He said a-matter-of-factly.

"I am Grandmaster Sub-zero of the Lin Kuei. I got turned into a woman by a certain sorcerer named Quan Chi." She said.

"Look, sugar…Here's what we can do. Tell me something that only Grandmaster Sub-zero knows about me and I'll believe." He said the last part so dubiously that Sub-zero narrowed his eyes.

"Fine." She said angrily. "Your name is Takumi Okada, you came from Japan. Your wife and child died of an unknown disease and you begged me to take you in as a guard." Okada raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all you got? That definitely doesn't prove to me that you're Grandmaster Sub-zero." He replied. "You gotta do better than that honey."

"Do you really want me to say something about you, that only I know, in front of all these people?" she arched her eyebrow. He nodded unperturbedly. "No matter how embarrassing it might be?" He nodded again. She smirked.

"Once we got drunk together and you told me all you secrets. So as not to humiliate you too much, I'll tell you one secret."

"I'm waiting." He said. He was so sure that she wasn't Sub-zero. She took in a deep breath.

"Well...you..." She paused for a while. She was still thinking of whether or not to say the fact. The man grinned cockily. That shredded Sub-zero's patience. "YOU FOLD YOUR UNDERWEAR AT THE SIDE BECAUSE YOU FIND THE TAG SO ITCHY!" That did the trick. The man paled and bowed.

"F-f-Forgive me Grandmaster Sub-zero! Forgive me!" he said while he was on his knees.

"You are forgiven." She heard the silent snickering of his fellow guards. He stared at her in relief. "What are you waiting for? Do I have to spill more of your secrets for me to be permitted inside of my own stronghold?" she said arching an eyebrow. He shook his head and ordered the others to open the gates. She went in and when she went around the corner, she could hear her guards taunting poor Okada. She smirked. As she found her room, she bolted her door and lay on her bed and she fell asleep at once.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Sub-zero woke up to the sound of someone banging on her door. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She stood up and opened the door.

"What is it?" she spat venomously. She was definitely in a bad mood. The man looked at her. "I asked you a question soldier." The man started and apologized. "Well?"

"Um, grandmaster…um, a woman wishes to speak with you." He was still staring at her as if she had just performed a great magic trick. Sub-zero squinted.

"And this woman…who is she?" she asked cautiously. The man seemed to have trouble telling her who it was. She grabbed the front of his shirt. "If you do not answer in one minute…" The henchman gulped.

"I'm n-not sure s-sir. But from what I was told…" he stuttered.

"Go on…" she told him. Even though she was an inch smaller, she was still as terrifying as she had always been.

"I-I was told that it was Frost, sir." She finally let him go and he sighed in relief. She was still frowning. _Why in the world is Frost here?_ she asked herself. The love she used to feel towards her student was gone. She used to love her like a daughter. Now, she was nothing more than a treacherous, annoying, spoiled, arrogant girl. She fumed.

Sub-zero was surprised at her temper. She was usually cold, calm and composed. She sighed. It was probably a woman thing. _I'll never criticize Sonya again!_ She thought to herself.

She went to her washroom, gargled and splashed water on her face. She then went out her room to face her 'ever-loyal student'.

As she entered the courtyard she was surprised to see Frost calmly talking to two of the guards.

"I want to see Sub-zero." she said. Sub-zero frowned and approached her.

"What do you want, woman?" Sub-zero asked coldly. Frost looked at her with one eyebrow raised. She surveyed Sub-zero from head to toe, in a way Johnny Cage loved to call, 'elevator eyes.'

"Who are you?" she asked, her tone surprised. "Are you Sub-zero's new student?" Sub-zero blinked, and then smirked.

"Yes." Sub-zero said confidently. "Yes I am." Frost looked dumbstruck. "Why would you even care that Sub-zero had a new student? Why come back her after two years of missing?" Sub-zero replied coldly. Frost looked at the floor. She looked absolutely dejected. Sub-zero's eyes softened a bit but she did not let her guard down.

"Well, Grandmaster said that I would be welcome here…I don't have anywhere to go to. And…I…wanted to apologize…" She said. After a few moments, Sub-zero sighed.

"Get inside. The guards and I will escort you to the Grandmaster's room."

Sub-zero watched as his arrogant ex-student sat down on of the chairs in her room. Frost was still staring at her.

"I have a question for you." She finally said after a few moments.

"Go on then." Sub-zero replied.

"Are you really Sub-zero's student?" she asked. Sub-zero paused for a moment before answering.

"Yes." She said.

"So, is he still alive?" That question caught her off guard.

"What?" Sub-zero didn't exactly understand her question.

"Because…you're wearing the dragon medallion…" Frost eyed the amulet on Sub-zero's shirt. She froze. "Well? Did you kill Sub-zero and take the medallion from him?" Sub-zero's temper flared up, but she tried her best to answer frostily.

"Did you not even think that Sub-zero might have given me this medallion in his own will? Did you think that every one of his students would do the same thing as you did?" she laughed coldly. "Did you really think so? And…" she added as Frost angrily opened her mouth to speak. "If you're wondering why he gave it to me, well, he said because I was worthy of its powers." She smirked. Frost was fuming.

"Really, now? He should have known that I am the only one…worthy of its powers!" she shouted before throwing her ice daggers straight to Sub-zero's face. She barely dodged it, leaving two cuts across her right cheek. She ducked just in time to evade Frost's kick and she punched her on the stomach.

Frost staggered back in pain and threw three small ice shurikens. Sub-zero caught one of them and threw it back to her. It hit Frost on the arm. Sub-zero jumped up and kicked her her squarely on the face. She fell down, unconscious. Sub-zero carried her body and laid her on her bed.

She called two of her guards and ordered them to tie her up.

Frost woke up moments later, with Sub-zero staring at her. As she tried to sit up, she found that she was actually tied up. She met Sub-zero's penetrating eyes.

"Well, you win! Why don't you just get it over with and kill me?" she shouted at her. Sub-zero raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really want to die that much?" she asked her. Frost seemed to give up.

"No. But why would you spare me?"

"That's a good question. Why would I spare you? After all you've done." Sub-zero shook her head and Frost seemed to get paler and paler by the second. "You know, if I was not the grandmaster, a sword would be hanging over your head by now…literally."

Frost tried to suppress a shudder, but failed in doing so.

"But since I am the Grandmaster, I will leave you in the mercy of your fellow members. It is up to them. If they want to keep you, let you go or kill you, I wouldn't contest their decision." With that, she left the room and ordered the henchman to assemble all of the Lin Kuei members in the courtyard.

After half an hour, all of the members of the Lin Kuei were standing in the courtyard. When Sub-zero went to the balcony just above the courtyard, all of their incessant babbling stopped at once. Sub-zero cleared her throat.

"I am sure you have heard of my change in appearance. I know there are no secrets in this temple. I am Grandmaster Sub-zero and I have come to put something to vote." All of them listened to her intently. Sub-zero beckoned to Frost and she came staring at her in bewilderment. Sub-zero was puzzled at Frost's expression at first. But after a while, she remembered that she did not tell Frost about her mishap. When Frost came into the light, people started murmuring again. Sub-zero cleared her throat yet again and the mumbling ceased.

"As you all know, this is my ex-student, Frost. I am sure you all know that she disappeared two years ago." She paused and most of the people nodded. "If you all remember, the penalty, not too long ago, for leaving the clan was death." The others looked surprised and the others smirked. "But, the decision is up to you." She said.

"So let's vote now. Who wants Frost to stay here, in the Lin Kuei palace?" Frost looked horrified when no one raised his hand.

"All right. Who wants Frost to be executed?" some of them raised their hands.

"Who wants Frost to be set free, but exiled forever?" More than half raised their hands. Then she turned to Frost. "There you are. Leave this stronghold. Do us all a favor and never, ever come back." She said.

A guard took Frost by the arm and escorted her to the gate, but she gave Sub-zero the 'this-is-not-over' look.

The next day, Sub-zero sat in her room, thinking. She would obviously be needing help. First she needed to find Raiden, to transport her to Outworld, where Quan Chi would most probably be. She then remembered that Raiden was almost always at the Special Forces base. She sighed. It was probably time to tell Sonya.

On the afternoon of the same day, Sub-zero found herself in the front of Sonya's house; she wasn't at the hideout so she was probably there. She sighed as she rang the doorbell. She held her breath as the door opened.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

She expelled her breath as soon as she saw who was in front of her. It was Johnny Cage. He looked at her in astonishment and smiled at her.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a seductive voice. Sub-zero blushed before answering.

"Er...I'm here to see Sonya?" she asked more than said. "She lives here, doesn't she?" He smiled warmly and Sub-zero turned even redder.

_I never noticed how good-looking Johnny was_, she thought to herself while staring at his face. _Wait, what? Did I just admit to myself that I found Johnny Cage attractive? I, Sub-zero, have officially gone insane._

"Yes she does live here, milady, in fact-," his sentence was cut off as soon as a blonde woman appeared by the doorway and hit him on the head with a spatula.

"Honestly Johnny, can't you see you're making her uncomfortable." She reprimanded him. She turned to Sub-zero's direction and smiled. "I'm Sonya Blade of the Special Forces, can I help you?" she asked as she escorted her into her home. They sat down on her sofa. "Well?"

"Er…yeah…Sonya, I was hoping that Raiden would actually be here. He is almost always somewhere near you." She said reluctantly staring at the floor.

Sonya was wearing an expression that said, 'How did she know that?'

"Well, if you're looking for Lord Raiden, I suppose I could call him for you." She paused for a while. "Lord Raiden!" she screamed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he appeared on the seat next to Johnny.

"Yes?" he asked before looking at Sub-zero. "Oh hello Sub-zero! What a pleasant surprise!" The other two looked at her in shock. Sub-zero smacked her forehead. She gave the Thunder God a withering look. Raiden was at first puzzled, then, the puzzlement turned into sheepishness.

"Thanks a lot, Raiden." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh…Sorry." He gave her a rueful grin.

Sonya was still staring at her with her mouth wide open. Johnny Cage looked at her incredulously.

"Wait a minute! You weren't planning to tell us?" Sonya accused her.

"Yeah! We're your friends too you know!" Johnny added. Sub-zero sighed.

"Look…it's not that simple." She said. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that…well…it's embarrassing." She hung her head in shame. Sonya shrugged.

"It's not that embarrassing." She said.

"Well for you it wouldn't be…it's just so…ugh." Sub-zero ran a hand through her long hair. "Well, for me it's really embarrassing. It's like saying Johnny had ballet classes and was forced to wear a pink, frilly, tutu." Sonya laughed and Raiden joined in, but Johnny's jaw fell.

"Wait! How'd you know that?" Sonya abruptly stopped laughing and stared at him wide-eyed. The other two were also staring at him, shocked. It was a moment before Sub-zero was able to speak.

"I didn't." she finally said. "That was just the best comparison I could come up with." And with that, Sonya and Raiden burst out laughing, yet again. Sub-zero smiled ruefully at Johnny and he sighed.

"Well, the cat's out of the bag. So, will you explain to us how you became a woman?" he said after the laughter died down. All eyes were on Sub-zero.

"Er…Quan Chi turned me into one." Their left eyebrows rose all at the same time. "Look, I don't know what to tell you. He hunted me down, and defeated me." She frowned. "Then, he turned me into this." She said, gesturing to her body.

"Uh-huh." Sonya said slowly. "So, anyway, what are you doing here? What do you want from Raiden?" Sub-zero turned to face Raiden.

"Well, I need you to transport me to Outworld." She paused. "I want…my…er…gender…back."

"But that's suicidal!" Raiden exclaimed. "You could take on Quan Chi, but you would never be able to finish them all. Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Shao Kahn's other allies."

"But…I can't stay like this forever!"

"But at least bring someone with you." Johnny said.

"I usually travel alone." She said coldly.

"Usually." Johnny emphasized. "But Raiden's right! You're gonna kill yourself!"

"Well…" Sonya started. "You could travel up to the secret base in Outworld."

"You have a secret base in Outworld?" Sub-zero asked incredulously.

"Is it that surprising? Here's a map." She said as she handed Sub-zero a rectangular piece of paper. "It'll help you to get there." Sub-zero merely nodded.

"Do you want me to transport you now Sub-zero?" Raiden asked. She nodded. "May the Elder Gods watch over you." He said as she went through the portal. As soon as she was gone, Raiden sat back down again.

"Do you think he'll-I mean she'll- be alright?" Sonya asked him, concerned.

"Not sure. But I'll send someone to accompany him…her." Raiden answered.

"Yeah, but who?" Johnny asked. Raiden's response was only a smirk.

Sub-zero stepped out of the portal. The atmosphere was dull and eerie. _I definitely am in Outworld._ She thought to herself. She took the map out from her pocket. Judging from the scaling, she was about one hundred kilometers away from the base. She found the pathway and started walking.

After about an hour of walking, Sub-zero sat down on a rock, intending to rest for a bit. But, as soon as she sat down, somebody tried to hit her with a shuriken from behind. As she ducked and faced the opposite direction, she saw two men, neither of them human.

The black figure stared at her, scrutinizing her appearance before taking an offensive stance. The humanoid took a defensive stance although he was actually behind the other one. Sub-zero was rooted to the spot. The black-clad warrior was one of the few people who mattered so much to her.

It was her brother.

"Smoke." Noob said. "Do you not think that she would make a perfect addition to our little group?"

Sub-zero was still frozen.

Smoke nodded silently.

As Noob suddenly jumped to attack, something whizzed past her impaling the said wraith. He was caught off guard. Sub-zero was able to dodge Noob's body as it was dragged.

Smoke got to her and threw a punch to her stomach. She staggered back at the intensity of the impact. She opened them just in time to see Smoke preparing to drive a sword through her. Then, it all happened so quickly. She felt something crash into her and she fell to the ground. She could hear the clashing of the blades and after a few moments, she heard Smoke and Noob teleport away and she heard someone approaching her.

"Are you all right?" a familiar voice asked. She was shocked to hear his voice. She looked up and there, standing in front of her, reaching his hand out, was Scorpion.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Sub-zero stared at Scorpion. _Why in the world did he help me?_ She wondered. She took Scorpion's hand and he helped her up.

"Why…." Her voice trailed off. She suddenly remembered that Scorpion didn't exactly know who she was. "Who are you?" she changed her question.

"I am Scorpion." He said. "Are you, by any chance, Snow?" Sub-zero started at that.

"Snow?" she asked stupidly.

"Yeah…you see, Raiden asked me to accompany a woman wearing blue who was called, 'Snow'." He explained to her. She mentally smacked her forehead. Couldn't Raiden have come up with a more creative name? And why did he have to send Scorpion? Could it not have been Sonya? Or maybe Kenshi?

"Oh. Yes that's me. But Snow is merely my clan alias, my real name is…" She paused. What is my 'real' name?

"Is…?" Scorpion looked at her expectantly. He was starting to grow impatient.

"Zeiva." She blurted out. She already seen Scorpion lose his temper numerous times, she didn't want to see it again. Besides, she always liked that name.

"Zeiva." The name rolled off Scorpion's tongue as he said it.

Sub-zero looked at the path as she spoke.

"You should go back to Raiden."

"Pardon me?" he said. His voice had a little bit of steel in it.

"You should go back to Raiden." Sub-zero repeated.

"I cannot do that." He simply said. Sub-zero turned to look at him.

"Why not?" she demanded. He looked at her with his penetrating eyes.

"Because I cannot refuse the command of a God!" He sounded furious, but it was difficult to see the expression on his face because he was wearing a mask. Sub-zero sighed.

"I am a Lin Kuei." She stated. "You are a ninja, more specifically, from the Shirai Ryu clan, our rival clan."

Scorpion still stared at her, a scowl on his face.

"How did you know?" He asked. Sub-zero mentally smacked herself again.

"Well, Grandmaster Sub-zero sometimes told me about you."

"Hmph. Sub-zero." He clenched his fists.

Sub-zero looked at him coldly.

"Is my being a Shirai Ryu that bothersome?" he asked her. His patience was obviously wearing thin. It took her a while before she answered.

"No." She lied. _Of course it bothers me!_ she screamed inside her head. Once Scorpion finds out that she was actually Sub-zero, he would try to kill her. She'd bet her life on it."You?"

"I only do as I am commanded." He didn't exactly answer the question. He looked away from her. "So, are you planning to stay here the whole day, or are we going to travel?" she sighed and started to walk with Scorpion beside her.

They did not speak to each other for the remainder of the day. They encountered a few beasts and Scorpion managed to take them out without Sub-zero's help. At night, they settled in one of the caves. Scorpion made a fire and Sub-zero warmed herself.

"I thought that you liked the cold." Scorpion said to her. She looked confused at first but soon enough, she understood.

"I do. But it's a nice change." She said. She looked at Scorpion.

"What?" he asked.

"Well…" she hesitated at first, but then realized this was only one of the few times she could ask Scorpion about his life. "Could you tell me more about yourself?"

Scorpion glared at her.

"I guess not." Sub-zero muttered under her breath.

To her surprise, Scorpion took off his ninja hood but he kept his mask on. He had long raven-black hair. He stared at the fire.

"I'm an undead ninja specter who hates the Elder Gods. What more is there to know?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed. But he sounded more sad than angry. It was obviously a touchy subject.

He finally looked at her. The melancholy was evident in his eyes. I never noticed the emotion that the eyes give away, maybe you had to be a girl to notice it, she thought.

"How about your life?"

"As I just said, I'm undead." He sounded bitter and irritated.

"How about your life before you became a ninja specter?" She asked. Even though she hated Scorpion with every fiber of her being (and the feeling was mutual), she wanted to know why he was so angry at her brother, why he was helping her now, and why he hated the Elder Gods. He turned his attention back to the fire.

"If you don't want to talk, it's fi-,"

"My name was Hanzo Hasashi; I was a part of a clan called the Shirai Ryu. I was called 'Scorpion' because of my skills as an assassin. I never wanted to join the clan."

"Then why-?" Scorpion cut her off for the second time.

"I wanted to provide my wife and child with a comfortable lifestyle." He replied. He still stared at the crackling flames. "One night, I was sent to the Himalayas to retrieve a map from a Shaolin temple. I thought it would be easy." He laughed without humor. "But my contractor had also hired my counterpart from a rival clan." He stopped.

"And that someone…who was he?" she prompted. She already had a pretty good idea as to who it was but she asked anyway.

"His name was Sub-zero." He said the name with such contempt that the younger Sub-zero shuddered. "We had a face off. He defeated me."

Sub-zero heard him clench his teeth. The Shirai Ryu also hated being defeated.

"Ashamed as I am to admit it, I begged for my life. Go on, laugh. I'm a coward." He shook his head.

"Laugh? Why in the Netherrealm would I laugh?" she asked him incredulously. He looked at her as if she were mad.

"I was weak and humiliating and-," he sounded ashamed of himself.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of." Sub-zero said.

"Why?"

She looked up at the ceiling.

"Scorpion, I for one know that you did not beg just because you wanted to live." She paused. "I think you begged because you knew that you had a wife and child to come home to; because you knew you were the one who provided them with money; because you loved them." She finally finished. I think that may be the longest sentence I have ever said in front of him.

Scorpion looked at her disbelievingly. He shook his head.

"Everybody who heard the story laughed at that part."

"Like who?" Scorpion shook his head.

"Blade, Cage, Briggs, and even Raiden." He said.

Sub-zero raised her eyebrow.

"Raiden laughed?"

"Well, he found it funny that I was arrogant and proud today, but managed to grovel at someone's feet in the past."

Sub-zero shook her head in disbelief.

"Some Thunder God." She said sarcastically. "Go on then, continue the story." He looked at the fire, yet again.

"The Lin Kuei warrior killed me in cold blood, and I descended to the Netherrealm, where I was given a choice. I could stay and wander forever as a lost soul, or I could be reborn as a spectre, but I would only remember vengeance, and my reasons for it – not my family, my clan, or even who I was. My choice was obvious. My thirst for revenge needed to be quenched"

"But if you're a spectre now… how do you remember all of this?" " She asked.

"Raiden told me… that was years ago. When he finished, it was like a door opened in my mind. My memories flooded back. I remembered everything." He explained. "And I don't even know why I'm telling you these things." He muttered.

_Back to the old Scorpion._ Sub-zero thought. Just when we were starting to talk civilly.

"You know, you should get some sleep, if you die of insomnia, I bet Raiden would never stop harassing me about it."

Sub-zero smiled behind her mask. At least one of her questions got answered. She laid her head back and closed her eyes.

"Zeiva?" she heard Scorpion's voice.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Never mind." He looked uncomfortable. If Sub-zero didn't know any better, she would have thought that he was thinking of thanking her.

After a few moments, she could hear someone singing in a soft tone; it was Scorpion. He was singing a Japanese song. Although she had no idea what it meant, the song lulled her to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

It was becoming a restless cycle, journey-eat-journey-fight-journey-sleep; although it wasn't always in that exact order. Even though they had only been following the cycle for two days, Sub-zero was getting tired of it. Outworld was like a desert, it was scorching hot in the day and ice cold at night. After defeating the beasts that ambushed them for the third time, Sub-zero collapsed. Luckily, she was caught by Scorpion.

"Are you all right?" he asked her. Sub-zero was dizzy.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to say, but it came out like mush.

Scorpion squinted. "As much as I hate delays, you obviously need to rest. We can continue the journey tomorrow, let's go find a cave."

"Really, I'm fine Scorpion." She lied. Scorpion scowled at her. "Fine…It's just the heat…" She groaned.

"I guess you aren't accustomed to the heat…Well, I guess being in the Netherrealm does pay off." He chuckled, surprising her. "Come on, let's go." Just when Sub-zero was about to stand up, the floor disappeared under her and she only realized what was happening moments later.

"I'm fine Scorpion! Put me down!" Her words fell on deaf ears as Scorpion walked on while carrying her in his arms. She stopped protesting and sighed. She closed her eyes.

It felt like only a few minutes later when she heard Scorpion singing. Her eyelids fluttered open. She tried to stand up but her head spun when she did and she groaned. The singing stopped.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked.

"I think so." She lied. She felt worse.

He stood up and made his way towards her. He sat down and placed his hand on her head. His hand was cool compared to the heat she felt in her body. He sighed and shook his head.

"You should stop lying. You're hot." After a few seconds, he realized that that sounded all wrong. "I-I meant that literally." He muttered in embarrassment. Sub-zero blushed for a moment and was glad she was wearing a mask.

Sub-zero sat up and leaned on the wall. Scorpion looked at her anxiously.

"Thanks for worrying." She said to him. He looked away.

"I don't give a damn about what happens to you...but Raiden would kill me if you died or if I bring you there in less than perfect condition." He replied, still looking away. Sub-zero deflated.

"Oh." Was all she said and she closed her eyes. _When was the last time I got sick?_ She asked herself. Perhaps it was her body's inability to keep up with her. After all, she still was not used to her body and its decreased stamina. Although she was more agile than she was before, her body was not as strong.

Sub-zero groaned. Her head hurt and, to her surprise she was shivering. She _never_ shivered. And, for some strange reason, she felt even worse after she heard Scorpion's reply.

"You were asleep for quite some time." He finally said, breaking the silence. She merely nodded. Then, silence ensued once again. Then, Sub-zero felt her throat tighten, as if something were blocking it. Was she…going to cry? Sub-zero was surprised at her lack of control. She forced herself to stare at the crackling flames until the tears that sprang forth in her eyes evaporated. However, one of those pesky tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

She looked away, away, from Scorpion, away from the fire.

Why was she crying? She had no idea. She just…felt like doing so. After the first tear fell, several others followed.

"W-why are you crying?" Scorpion finally noticed. He sounded horrified at the thought. He probably never dealt with crying women often. "Stop it! You're crying is echoing in this cave."

"Shut the hell up." Sub-zero shot him an icy glare, which silenced his incessant rambling.

After a few moments she stopped.

"Am I allowed to speak now?" He asked sarcastically. "Are you all right now?" he asked in the same tone, but it was mixed with something else.

She nodded. She felt relieved after crying, like a big burden was taken off her shoulders. The last time she cried was when her brother had died. She sighed and shook her head. Why did Scorpion have such an effect on me? She dismissed the thought.

Sub-zero leaned her head on her knee.

"You know, you never really finished your story." She finally said.

"What story?" he asked, confused. Apparently, that wasn't what he was expecting.

"Your life story, Scorpion. What happened after you were given life?" she asked him trying to keep her patience in check.

"You mean after I became a ninja specter?" she nodded. He sighed. "Well, I won't delve into details. I finally found him during the Mortal Kombat Tournament and there, I had my revenge. Then, I returned to the pits of Netherrealm." He paused. "A year later, somebody hosted yet another Mortal Kombat Tournament. I heard that Sub-zero was going to fight. I was enraged that somehow my murderer managed to escape the fiery pits of Hell. But during the Tournament, I was able to watch a match between Sub-zero and somebody. And what I saw surprised me."

"What did you see?" she asked, her curiosity kindled.

"Sub-zero…spared the person's life. Then I realized that that couldn't be the same Sub-zero that I killed. So, I promised to myself that I wouldn't harm this younger Sub-zero because he was not my murderer. So after that, I returned to the Netherrealm." Then his expression turned fierce. "Quan Chi then asked me why I did not kill the younger one…I gave him my reason and he laughed coldly."

"'The younger Sub-zero was the person who murdered your whole clan.' He told me. He even created visions that show that Sub-zero killed my wife and child." Sub-zero heard him clench his teeth behind his mask. "He even went so far as to show me that Sub-zero raped my wife before killing her." He let out a sigh. "I was stupid enough to believe it. I hunted Sub-zero down and defeated him. After doing so, he proclaimed his innocence and Quan Chi revealed to me that he was the one who killed my clan. He tried to send me back to Netherrealm but I ran towards him and grabbed his shirt, therefore, sending both of us to Hell. There, I tormented him."

"You should go sleep now; you might get worse if you don't."

"Zeiva…" he said.

These were the last words Sub-zero heard before sleep had claimed her.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Zeiva…Zeiva…" Sub-zero heard Scorpion. Her eyelids fluttered open and her eyes focused on Scorpion. She saw the distraught look on his face.

"What?" she snapped. She wasn't much of a morning person.

"I'm still deciding on whether to stay here until you get better or…" he trailed off.

Sub-zero looked at him quizzically. _Until I get better?_ She thought. She tried to sit up and she found her answer. Her head hurt like hell. Her head fell back on the floor and she groaned.

"Are you in pain?"

"Yes…" she admitted.

"You obviously aren't feeling any better…however, we must continue or journey." He paused. "Is there anything I can do?" He added unwillingly.

"I don't know….but we have to keep on going." He nodded. He stood up and picked Sub-zero up. She didn't throw a fit this time and let him carry her. She let her eyelids droop and sleep claimed her once again.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero woke up after a few hours. She wondered why her bed was rocking. Then she remembered that Scorpion was carrying her.

"You have awakened." He said formally. She tried to nod. "We're almost there, only about three kilometers." He said.

"Thank the Elder Gods." She replied.

He nodded.

Silence.

She felt awkward about the whole situation.

"Hmm." If she could scratch the back of her head, she would have done so.

"What?" he sighed exasperatedly.

"It's just...too quiet." she said.

"What do you want me to do about it then?" he sounded annoyed, but he was obviously as uncomfortable as she was. When she didn't answer, he looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

Sub-zero smiled behind her mask.

"N-Yes." She changed her mind. She paused for a while. Scorpion looked down at her, wondering why she became silent.

"What is it?" he asked warily.

"Can you sing for me?" she asked. She looked down. She didn't want to meet his surprised eyes. She loved listening to people sing. She briefly remembered Sareena whose voice was akin to an angel's. Sub-zero would always make up a lame excuse to stay somewhere beside her, just to hear her singing. Of course, Sub-zero would never admit that to anyone...

Without answering, she heard him take a deep breath and start singing. He had a nice baritone and his song seemed to warm her soul. She listened to his song intently. When he had sung the last words, she clapped her hands.

"You have such a beautiful voice Scorpion." She complimented him. She surprised herself with her words. _I just complimented Scorpion...I must be _really_ ill._

His face heated up. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you."

"Well, why don't you sing?" he asked her. She almost snorted.

"Me? Sing? I only do that in my sanctuary." She said to him. She looked up and his eyes looked interested.

"Hmm…and where would that be?"

"The shower." She wasn't prepared for what happened next. Scorpion burst out laughing. She glared at him but her heart swelled with joy that she had actually made him laugh. He shook his head.

"You are…a very interesting person." He said.

"Thanks." She grinned, even though she knew he wouldn't see. "I think I can walk now." He stopped and he let her down. Both of them stretched.

"Thank the Elder Gods for that." He said while flexing his arm. "My arm feels like it would fall off any moment." He teased her. _Scorpion? Teasing? Dear Elder Gods._

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." He replied. "Well, let's go then." And the two started walking again. Sub-zero thought of it as a momentary truce, even if Scorpion didn't know that.

OoooooooO

The two finally arrived at the hideout, which turned out to be a large house concealed by the rocks of the mountain.

"How in the world did you build a house on a mountain?" Sub-zero asked incredulously. Scorpion shrugged.

"We didn't build it." He said. "We just found it and did a few repairs."

"Why would anyone want a house by the mountain?" she asked out loud.

"He probably liked the view." Scorpion shrugged again and rang the doorbell. Almost at once, a blonde woman opened the door.

"Hello Scorpion! Hello Snow!" Sub-zero internally winced at that. The woman escorted the two in.

"How was the trip, Scorpion?" she asked.

"It was…alright, Princess." He replied. "And what is up with that stupid wig?" Sub-zero didn't recognize her at first, but then she realized that it was Princess Kitana wearing a yellow wig. She smiled.

Kitana glared at him, and, to Sub-zero's surprise, childishly stuck her tongue out at Scorpion.

"Shut your mouth." Then she turned to Sub-zero. "Well, Raiden informed us that you would be coming, Snow. I am Kitana."

"I prefer to be called by my real name, 'Zeiva'." She said politely. Kitana nodded.

"I'll introduce you to the others." She grabbed Sub-zero by her hand and led her towards the living room. There was a multitude of people there. She knew all of them by name but went along with the 'it's-nice-to-meet-you" façade. Kitana pointed them out and called their names.

"That's Jax, Jade, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Fujin, Ermac, and Kenshi…he's asleep right there." She pointed towards a man in black curled on the sofa.

Sub-zero paled. She wondered if Kenshi ever told anyone about her unfortunate mishap.

"The others will arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, till then, you can just relax. Your room is on the fourth floor, you'll share a room with Li Mei. She'll arrive tomorrow."

Sub-zero nodded. She then went up to the fourth floor and entered her room. There were two beds, one on top of the other (double-deck). She lay down on the lower bed.

OoooooooO

After what seemed like only a few minutes later, somebody knocked on Sub-zero's door. She stood up and opened it, it was Kitana. She scrutinized her face before speaking.

"Dinner's ready." She said. "Come down when you're ready." Sub-zero nodded. Kitana closed the door behind her. Sub-zero made her way to the bathroom and took a bath. After finishing, she changed into clean clothes and put the dirty ones in the hamper. She didn't place her mask on since she was going to eat.

When Sub-zero arrived at the dining area, they were already eating. She made her way to the seat next to Scorpion and sat down. She noticed that Kenshi wasn't there and sighed in relief. She helped herself to some food and water; it had been so long since she was able to relax completely.

"So, Zeiva, tell us more about yourself." The Wind God finally said. Suddenly, all of the people stopped speaking and all eyes were on her. Sub-zero didn't like attention but there was nothing she could do.

"What do you want to know?"

"Where you're from, what you do, your family, hobbies etc." Kung Lao answered.

"I was born in Earthrealm, in China, more specifically. My father and my brother were Lin Kuei assassins. Both died in battle. I am Grandmaster Sub-zero's newest student. Well, hobbies…I don't really have any." She felt bad about lying to them, yet there was nothing she could do.

"So, can you tell us why Sub-zero has been evading all our calls?" Liu Kang made a face. Sub-zero gulped. "He never answers our calls."

"Oh. That. Well um…" she started. "Grandmaster Sub-zero is off on some important task. Hey don't give me that look." Fujin was looking at her suspiciously. "I don't know what to tell you. All he said was, 'Zeiva, if anyone needs me, you can go as my replacement.' So, that's why I'm here." She lied. She hoped Fujin would buy it. Apparently he did. He nodded in assent.

"I see." He replied. And the blabbering began again.

Sub-zero sighed inwardly.

When all of them had finished eating, they cleaned their respective plates and returned to their rooms.

Sub-zero laid her head in the bed and tried to sleep, but she had slept too often that day. After one to two hours of lying down and staring at the ceiling, Sub-zero stood up and went out of her room.

OoooooooO

The house was oddly quiet at night. She opened the door to the balcony. She was surprised to see someone there.

Ermac was staring out into the night. He looked at Sub-zero when she tried to close the door quietly.

"Er…Sorry to disturb you." She said. "I'll look for some other place." But Ermac shook his head and beckoned to her. She obeyed him and the two sat down on the bench.

"Do not worry, you did not disturb us." Ermac said. "You are Zeiva, correct?" Sub-zero nodded. "We are pleased to meet you."

It did not escape Sub-zero that he used 'we' and 'us'.

"I'm pleased to meet you too." She replied. "Ermac, right?"

He nodded.

After a few moments of shyness, the two started talking to each other. He talked about his life, what happened to him before Kenshi helped him. Still, Ermac kept using the plural.

"Why do you keep on referring to yourself as 'we'?" she asked at one point. Ermac paused for a while before answering.

"We use 'we' because we are a collection of souls. We are one body, but we contain one hundred souls." He said quietly.

"But still, you have a soul of your own, don't you?"

He shook his head slowly.

"_I_ don't." he emphasized.

"Of course you do. With all the good you've done. It is impossible for you to not have a soul."

"Good? We've killed many people…"

"That's because you were under a spell. And now that you've broken free from that spell, you're striving to do the right thing, Ermac." She said. For some reason unbeknownst to her, she hated seeing the generally sad aura around him. She wanted him to feel better.

"But…I can't have a soul…"

"Ermac…" she shook her head. "You can feel, you can sympathize, you can act according to what is right. You have actual memories of what happened in your life. I, for one, believe that amidst the one hundred souls that your body contains, a one hundred and first soul actually exists. And that soul is yours and yours alone. If you didn't have one of your own, how would you remember all those things you just told me?"

Ermac smiled at her.

"Thank you." He whispered.

Sub-zero stood up, not believing that she had just said all those things. She never was the talkative type.

"You're welcome, Ermac. I was just stating facts anyway." She smiled. "Good night." She said as she walked away.

Ermac stared at her retreating figure. His heart thumped unevenly as he remembered her words, "That soul is yours and yours alone."


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

The sun rose high and its rays seemed to filter through the curtains and bathe Sub-zero in sunlight. She opened her eyes and sat up, her head and the upper bed almost colliding. She shook her head groggily. She then felt it. Her bed was wet.

"Dear Elder Gods, don't tell me..." She stood up and looked at the place she once sat on. Her eyes widened in horror. There was blood. At first, she thought she was injured, but then, comprehension dawned on her. "By the Elder Gods." She muttered. She was panicking in the inside. "What the hell am I going to do?" Then, as if the Gods had damned her, someone knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" she asked. _Anyone but Scorpion_, she thought to herself. She had no idea where that came from but she wished it wasn't him.

"It's Scorpion." By the Elder Gods. She opened the door and stuck her head out. He actually knows how to knock.

"Y-yes?" she asked shakily. There was definitely something wrong with her. Sub-zero did _not_ stutter.

Scorpion raised his eyebrow. "Breakfast is ready." He announced. "Why do you look so panicked?"

"It's nothing." She looked at the floor. "Are Sonya and the others here already?" He nodded. "Could you call Sonya for me?

"Do I look like a messenger boy?" he growled grumpily, but complied to her request anyway. He left and Sub-zero closed the door. After a few moments, someone knocked again, she threw the door open. As she expected, it was Sonya.

"Hey…er…'Zeiva'." Sub-zero could hear the quotation marks as she said her invented name.

"Hey, Sonya. I require your assistance." Then, she finally broke away from her calm exterior. "I need, need, need your help!"

"Whoa, whoa, what do you need my help for?" She asked warily.

"That!" Sub-zero exclaimed as she pointed to the, once blue, bed sheets. Sonya's expression turned into surprise and pity. She turned to Sub-zero and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"This is what you need to do and promise me you'll listen to what I say." Sub-zero nodded. "You have your monthly period-,"

"I figured that out for myself." She mumbled.

"- so you're going to need napkins. Go take a shower and I'll be back with one pack." She continued unperturbedly and Sub-zero nodded once more.

When Sonya left, Sub-zero went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. As she was taking a bath, she heard her door open and close. Then, she heard Sonya's voice.

"I've got your napkins here, Sub- I mean, Zeiva!" she called to her. Sub-zero turned the shower off and stepped out of the bathroom. Sonya showed her how to apply the napkin. _Dear Elder Gods! This is more humiliating than admitting that I am Sub-zero…or maybe not._

"You have to change once every three to four hours." Sonya instructed her. "I'll take care of these." She said as she stripped the bed of the covers.

"Thank you Sonya. I owe you one." Sub-zero said, embarrassed.

"Don't mention it." She flashed a grin towards her. "You should go downstairs or Jax'll eat all the food." She said before leaving the room. Sub-zero smiled to herself and put her clothes on and went downstairs to eat.

OoooooooO

The day passed by in a blur. Before she knew it, night had already fallen. She followed Sonya's instructions and changed her napkin once every three hours.

They were scattered all over the house since they couldn't fit in the table all at once. Raiden, Li Mei, Sonya, Cyrax, Johnny, Mokap, Nightwolf, Sareena (which came as a surprise to Sub-zero), Ashrah, were the new additions to the group. So now, there were actually nineteen of them staying in a large house with four floors.

Sub-zero took the time to go to the balcony. As she sat there eating her meal in peace, the door opened and Kenshi made his way to sit next to her.

"Hello Sub-zero." He said in a hushed tone. But still, Sub-zero shushed him.

"Don't say my real name while we're here!" she said. Then, she replied more calmly. "Just call me Zeiva." Kenshi smirked.

"Nice name." he commented.

She nodded in assent.

"I have a question for you, Kenshi." She said as she plopped a dumpling into her mouth.

"Fire away." He replied, mimicking Sub-zero's action.

"Wrh-wr-yew-jwing-n-ja-fresht?" She said with her mouth full.

"I'm sorry?" Kenshi grinned. "I can't understand a word you said, 'Zeiva'." Again with the quote-and-quote? Sub-zero swallowed.

"I said, 'What were you doing in the forest when you found me?'"

Kenshi sighed. "I was tracking someone."

"Tracking? Who?" He seemed hesitant to tell her who it was.

"Sektor. You do know I've been working for the Special Forces for a few months. There have been rumors that Sektor's ship had crashed there. So I was sent to investigate."

"What? Sektor's ship had crashed and I wasn't informed?" She was furious.

"Sektor wasn't planning anything." He assured her.

"Oh really? How sure were you? I was in the same damned forest as he was in. And in my weakened state, he could have…" she shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me any of this? Have you already forgotten Sektor's plans of turning the Lin Kuei into cyborgs?"

"He has abandoned that plan long ago." He defended.

"How sure are you?"

"Pretty sure. I mean, he has a clan of his own now, why would he bother with the Lin Kuei?"

"I don't care what his reasons are." She fumed.

"You really care about your clan, don't you?" he asked out of the blue.

The question took her aback and her eyes softened. "They are my life." She simply said. "Just tell me next time, all right? I hate being left out of the loop. Especially when it's related to either Sektor or Noob Saibot." She sighed.

"Yes ma'am." He gave her a mock salute as the seriousness of the conversation dissipated.

The two continued to eat and chatter away happily. They talked about Kenshi's life before he met this group and he told her how she got blinded.

"I'll kill that Sorcerer." Sub-zero muttered as she stood up.

"Thanks." He grinned. "But I'll kill him myself." Before Sub-zero opened the door, he said something else. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, you have blood on your behind." He said, grinning and he laughed.

Sub-zero growled at him and ran straight to her room. She changed her outfit, still blushing.

Someone rapped on her door lightly. She opened it; it was Scorpion.

"What?"

He looked mildly annoyed. He sighed.

"Let's go downstairs. We have an 'activity'." He replied. The two went down and went to the living room. All of them were there and they were seated in a circle and there was a bottle in the middle. Sub-zero looked horrorstruck as she realized what they were for. Johnny greeted them cheerfully.

"Hello you two! All of us are going to play a little game of 'Truth or Dare'!" he announced and Sub-zero almost fainted.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Sub-zero glared malevolently at Johnny as she sat down next to Kenshi and Scorpion. He, however, didn't seem to be bothered by Sub-zero's hostility. He was still smiling.

"Sonya," he said, "Would you like to explain the rules?" Sonya glanced at Sub-zero before speaking.

"You know Johnny; I don't think it's appropriate to play such a game at this time." She said. "I mean, we barely know each other, and if we play this game, don't you think the new guys would be a bit traumatized." Her eyes flickered to Sub-zero and back to Johnny. Johnny continued to smile.

"Oh come on, Sonya they want to play." Only Sub-zero and Scorpion didn't nod. "Besides it's a great way to get to know each other." He reasoned. Sonya sighed.

"If you say so." She muttered under her breath. She shot Sub-zero an apologetic look before speaking. "The mechanics of the game is pretty simple; somebody spins the bottle, and the person whom the bottle is pointing at will be given two options; truth or dare." Sub-zero cringed. "If the person chooses Truth, one will ask him/her one question. If the person refuses to answer, he will do two dares. If the person chooses 'dare', the person will spin the bottle and the person whom the bottle is pointing at will give him the dare. Pretty simple, right?"

They nodded.

"So, who will spin the bottle?" Fujin asked.

"I'll do it!" Jax volunteered. He spun the bottle. Sub-zero closed her eyes. _Not me, not me._ She opened her eyes, and the bottle pointed at Sareena.

"Truth or dare?" Johnny asked. Sareena shrugged.

"I guess I'll go with 'Truth' it's much easier." She said. They spun the bottle again and it pointed at Kenshi. After a few moments of thinking, he grinned wickedly, earning confused looks from Sareena and Sub-zero. "Ask away."

"Do you have a crush on Sub-zero?" Sub-zero gave him a 'WTF-look' and Johnny looked as if he was going to die of laughter. Sareena looked towards the ceiling.

"Since Sub-zero isn't here anyway, I am going answer your question. Well, yes I suppose I do...Maybe I even love him...He is a pretty good-looking guy…and a skilled warrior as well. He's a kind-hearted person as well. I mean, he let me in his stronghold when I had nowhere else to go…and…well, he is hot." She grinned and Li Mei nodded in assent.

"I agree." She said.

Sub-zero smiled inwardly. _He loved you too, Sareena._ She looked down on the floor.

"Oh well, I'll court him someday." Sareena added. _Dear Elder Gods, remind me to propose to Sareena the moment I get my gender back._ Sub-zero thought.

And they laughed.

"Don't tell your Grandmaster." Sareena looked at Sub-zero, she merely nodded. _I don't need to,_ she thought. Sareena spun the bottle and this time, Jade was the victim. She smiled wickedly. "Jade, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." She spun the bottle and the one to ask the question was Liu Kang.

"Well…I've asked Kung Lao this question multiple times but he just wouldn't answer!" he paused. "Have you and Kung Lao…You know…done it yet?" he asked. After a few moments of silence, Kitana, burst out laughing; followed by Sonya and the others. Jade blushed profusely as she yelled at Liu Kang.

"We're waiting…" Ashrah said smugly. Jade took a deep breath.

"Yes…" she said inaudibly. Then, the laughter turned into wolf whistles and side comments. "Yeah…yeah…go on and laugh." She muttered and Kung Lao kissed the top of her head, earning a few 'awww's from the group. She spun the bottle and it landed on…Scorpion. He narrowed his eyes.

"Truth or Dare?" Jade asked playfully.

"Truth." Scorpion replied. The one to ask the question was Nightwolf.

"Well, what was your life like before you turned into a ninja specter?" he asked. Most of them stared at him curiously.

"What kind of fu-,"

"Language, Scorpion." Raiden glared at him.

"-stupid question is that?" Scorpion growled.

"A perfectly normal one." Nightwolf answered coolly. "If you don't want to answer it, just do the two dares."

"Fine." He barked. "I'll just do the two dares." He replied. "I don't even know why I have to play this fu-,"

"Scorpion." Raiden gave him another pointed look.

"-annoying game." He muttered. "What are we? Ten years old? People can swear when they want to, can't they?" he growled

"Not in my presence." Raiden replied coolly.

Sub-zero looked at him. _So he told me everything, but he didn't want to tell anyone else?_

"All right. First, take your mask off and show us what you look like."

Scorpion raised his eyebrow. "I'm a burning skull, you already know that." He said.

"Yeah but once, you told us you could show how you look as a human." Mokap said, speaking for the first time.

He sighed and pulled his ninja hood and mask off. Most of the girls stared at him. Scorpion was…for lack of better term for it, hot. His hair was long and black and it fell up to his chest. His skin was lightly tanned. Sub-zero gaped at his beauty. He was, without doubt, the best-looking guy she had ever met. _Next to me when I was a guy, of course._. She thought.

"Happy now?" He asked. They nodded. "So what's the second dare?" Ashrah was the one to give him the dare. She giggled.

"Go and kiss Kitana." She said.

"What?!" Scorpion and Liu Kang screamed at the same time. Kitana blushed and looked at the floor, no doubt excited about kissing a handsome guy. Sareena whispered something into Ashrah's ear and she grinned.

"Or better yet, kiss the newcomer, Zeiva!" the two girls snickered. Kenshi and Ermac looked as if they were ready to kill someone. Raiden looked sheepish. Sonya looked horrified and Johnny looked disgusted.

Sub-zero smacked her forehead. _Dear Elder Gods! This is not happening to me! I am a GUY!_

"I am NOT doing that." Scorpion growled at them.

"I am not exactly partial to that notion, either." Sub-zero voiced her thoughts.

"Either her or Raiden-,"

"Hey!" came the Thunder God's protest.

"-you choose." Ashrah shrugged.

"…Fine." He replied after a few moments of silence. He turned to her and pulled her mask off, she was still too stunned to move. Before she knew it, his lips were on hers. It was warm and soft. He finally pulled away.

Sub-zero's face was still red. Sareena's and Ashrah's faces looked smug. Johnny, Sonya and Raiden looked horrified and apologetic at the same time.

"How was it?" Sareena asked. Sub-zero stared at the floor, still in shock. It was apparent that she did not want to answer Sareena's question. She seemed to get the message and said something else. "Spin the bottle, Scorpion."

"Wha-oh-right." He spun the bottle.

Sub-zero tried to act normally. However, after being kissed by her adversary, she found that it was a feat harder than killing Shao Kahn. After what seemed like hours and hours, the game finally ended and they returned to their respective rooms. Li Mei went upstairs with Sub-zero.

"Man, you're lucky to be able to kiss such a hot guy." She commented while changing into her sleepwear.

Sub-zero merely nodded.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Li Mei approached her and sat down beside her. "You've been acting weird since that kiss…are you all right?"

"Do I look all right?" Sub-zero asked obviously annoyed. When he saw Li Mei's hurt look, she apologized. "Forgive me…I'm not in the best of moods." She sighed.

"You can tell me if you think it'll help." She said. "Is it something about Scorpion's lack of expertise in kissing?" she joked. Sub-zero shook her head and looked at Li Mei seriously.

"Li Mei, I am going to tell you something, but you have to promise me that you'll just keep it to yourself." She nodded.

Sub-zero took a deep breath.

"I'm Sub-zero." She said as calmly as she could. Li Mei's eyes widened.

"Dear Elder Gods." She said. "So you're Grandmaster Sub-zero of the Lin Kuei?" she nodded. She hugged her. "And they made you kiss Scorpion? I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. We're archenemies for Raiden's sake! Not to mention our gender being the same." She ran a hand down her face and Li Mei tightened her hug. When she finally let go she asked Sub-zero all the details that lead to her transformation.

"Quan Chi, huh? Bastard." She said. She gave him a pitiful look. "So why are you so sulky about Scorpion kissing you? I mean, shouldn't you be angry?"

"It's not just my body that turns into a woman, you know. I get female hormones and I find guys attractive now." She sighed. "I'm not gay…but it seems that since I'm a woman now, I get everything."

Li Mei looked at her pitifully yet again.

"I'm suffering because, well I'm a guy who is forced to have female emotions…now I'm finding Scorpion attractive and it's killing me. And I was forced to kiss this guy. " She rubbed her temples. Sub-zero needed to talk to someone and was glad she could confide to Li Mei.

"I'll help you get your gender back, don't worry." She kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, Li Mei. And please don't tell anyone."

"I won't tell a soul." She grinned as she climbed onto her own bed and Sub-zero switched off the lights.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Sub-zero felt horrible when she woke up. Her head was pounding and her vision was a bit hazy. She concurred that, for the second time in the same month, she was sick. _Good grief_. She thought. She stood up and went straight to the shower. She took a bath, put new clothes on and went downstairs. She sat down on the dining table.

"Good morning, Zeiva." Fujin greeted her as she helped herself to some food.

"Good morning, Fujin." She replied. Only Fujin, Nightwolf, Sonya, Johnny, Kenshi and Ermac were on the table.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Kenshi asked.

Sub-zero grimaced.

"Not really." She admitted. There would be no point in hiding it from them.

Ermac and Kenshi frowned.

"Are you all right?" They asked at the same time.

Sub-zero tried to smile and nod. Her head spun as she did so but she tried to act normally.

"Yeah, I suppose." She replied. After a few moments of poking at her food, somebody else sat down on the dining table, it was Scorpion. She tried to ignore the fact that he was sitting as far away from her as possible and continued on poking her food.

"You aren't eating." Ermac noted. He seemed to notice that she had not yet taken a single bite. Sub-zero shook her head and stood up.

"I guess I'm not that hungry. Here," she gave her plate to Kenshi who accepted the food given to him willingly. "You can eat it." She made her way out and noticed that Scorpion did not glance her way even once. She stepped out of the house and made her way to the closest river she could find and sat down on a rock. It felt refreshing to be out there enjoying nature.

"Think, Sub-zero, think." She said to herself. "Or better yet, don't think." She massaged her temples. Her head was throbbing. She touched the water and tried to freeze it, but found out that she was too weak to do so. She sighed. She tried stop thinking about the game last night, but failed miserably.

She remembered all the details of what had taken place, or at least, one of the events that took place. Sub-zero touched her lips as she remembered how it felt when Scorpion pressed his lips to it. She blushed at the memory.

"I shouldn't even be thinking about this." She said. She stood up and made her way back to the house.

OoooooooO

"Zeiva! I was looking for you!" Sub-zero winced as she heard the princess call out to her. She turned around and forced a smile.

"Hello, Kitana." She replied as amiably as she could. Kitana smiled in response. "What did you need from me?" she asked.

"Well, I just wanted to talk to somebody…a girl who isn't Jade." She muttered embarrassedly. Sub-zero nodded as Kitana led her to the sofa and she explained her dilemma.

"It's about Liu." Sub-zero bit her tongue. She knew nothing about intimate relationships; she had never been in one.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Well, you see…I actually like him…maybe even love him but…" she trailed off.

"But what?"

"But it seems like he doesn't like me back." Kitana looked at the floor. She looked so dejected that Sub-zero wanted to give her a hug, but she was too shy to do so.

"What makes you say that?" Sub-zero tried to focus on Kitana's dilemma instead of brooding on the fact that she was sick, her body was weak and her head felt like it would fall off because of its weight.

"Well…he seems so…different when I'm around. He's so fidgety and it seems as if he doesn't want to be in the same room with me." She continued to stare at the floor. Her beautiful face was sad. She met Sub-zero's gaze. "What do you think?"

"Well, I can't really be sure if he likes you or not, because I'm not him, but I do have a theory on that." Sub-zero said. She squinted as her head felt heavier. "You see, men tend to act like abnormally around the women they like. For example, Johnny, if you notice the way he acts around Sonya, it's quite different from the way he acts when he's around you or me…" Kitana smiled at her.

"So, do you think Liu Kang likes me?" Sub-zero tried to smile encouragingly.

"I think so. But that's what my theory tells me. You ought to tell him." I ought to know, I used to act like that when I was around Kitana and Sareena back then…

To her surprise, Kitana hugged her.

"Thanks, so much Zeiva. Yes, maybe I will tell him." She let her go and left her alone on the sofa. She could not help but feel a bit peeved. At least Sub-zero did not try to court her when she was still a guy. She did not take rejection easily. Hopefully, Sareena would still be available after she gets her gender back. However, thinking about it, her feelings for Sareena and Kitana had somehow dissipated after being turned into a woman. _Stop thinking, Sub-zero._ she thought to herself.

Most of the people were in their respective rooms, so there was nobody in the living room aside from her. She touched her forehead, and her temperature was above normal. She didn't want to bother anyone, so she didn't tell it to them.

"Zeiva," someone called her name and she jumped in surprise. She looked to her right and she saw Scorpion by the staircase. He looked mildly amused by her jumpiness.

"Hey." The two were quiet for some time and Scorpion sat down beside her on the sofa. He sighed, breaking the silence.

"Here's the thing Zeiva, I know you were upset about what happened last night…" and he trailed off. He looked absolutely uncomfortable. Maybe it was difficult for him to talk to somebody without sounding angry.

"No…not upset…just…it feels…awkward…" she managed to say. She was looking at the floor.

"It's damn awkward." He agreed. "I can't believe they made us _do_ that."

"Indubitably." She nodded, ignoring the weight of her head.

Silence once again ensued.

She stood up. "I need to do go and talk to Raiden." As she took a step, however, she fell forward and the last thing she remembered was the feel of Scorpion's arms around her waist.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero opened her eyes. She was in her room. She looked to her side to find Scorpion sitting by her bed, staring at her.

"Are you all right?" he asked. He sounded concerned.

"No, I'm not." Sub-zero said groggily. Her voice was raspy. "My head hurts like hell." Scorpion looked helplessly around him.

To her surprise, Scorpion hugged her.

Although her head hurt like Netherrealm, she felt comfortable in his arms. He let her go and looked at her. Only then did Sub-zero realize that he was not wearing his mask. Sub-zero slid back into the bed and lay down.

"You know, I've never hugged anyone after my wife died…" he shook his head. "Do you need some kind of pain reliever?" he asked. Sub-zero nodded. He went out of the room and returned before Sub-zero could count to thirty. He sat down on the bed.

"Can you sit up?" Sub-zero shook her head. "Will it hurt you if I sit you up and support your weight?"

"I don't think any part of my body hurts." She replied. "Except my head. It hurts so much if I try and move it." She admitted.

"You have to drink this."

"I don't think I can." She rubbed her eyes.

Suddenly, Scorpion grimaced.

"To drink this medicine I need to…" He was saying something.. Sub-zero's head was too painful to make any sense of what he said so she just nodded. Then, she felt Scorpion's lips on hers and her eyelids opened in shock. She barely noticed the medicine that Scorpion passed from his mouth into hers, but she swallowed involuntarily. He pulled back and Sub-zero could still feel the shock on her face.

"Go to sleep." He commanded and Sub-zero closed her eyes and fell asleep all too quickly.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Sub-zero opened her eyes as she heard a person playing a flute. Strange. Who would be playing a flute in my room? She looked to her left and saw Kenshi holding a leaf to his lips and playing one of her favorite songs.

He stopped playing and smiled.

"How are you feeling?" he asked amiably. Sub-zero sat up and stretched, almost hitting the bed above her. "Do you feel well enough to be able to walk around?"

"Yeah, I feel well enough." She said doubtfully. But her head didn't spin and the walls seemed to stay where they should, so Sub-zero sighed in relief. "Where's Scorpion?" Her question wiped the smile off of Kenshi's face.

"He's sleeping in his room." He replied, suddenly sullen.

"Oh, I see." She answered. She stood up and stretched some more. "How long have you been staying there?" He smiled again.

"Hmm…not sure…probably about thirteen hours or so." He said, grinning.

"Thirteen hours?" she asked incredulously. "How long was I unconscious?" Kenshi looked at the ceiling, as if deep in thought.

"Three days, I think."

"Three days?" Sub-zero almost shouted. She didn't know that she had been unconscious that long. "I've been unconscious," she said slowly, "For three days?"

"Yeah, well that was the side effect of the medicine Hellboy gave to you." He sounded offensive. Sub-zero shot him a dark look. "What?"

"Don't call him Hellboy." She ordered. "Besides, if it weren't for his medicine, I'd still be bedridden." She said. _Am I...defending Scorpion? Maybe I still am sick._

"Why can't I call him Hellboy?" Kenshi challenged. Sub-zero was puzzled at Kenshi's strange attitude. She sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Call him whatever you want, just don't let me hear it." She replied. Her stomach growled. "I'm hungry." Kenshi's mood seemed to lighten up again. His mood swings left Sub-zero a step behind.

"Come on, it's already afternoon so let's go see what's in the fridge." He took Sub-zero by the arm and led her to the kitchen.

After eating, the two sat down on the sofa and chattered happily. The two stopped laughing abruptly as a miserable-looking Kitana made her way to sit next to them.

"Hey." She greeted half-heartedly. Sub-zero turned to Kenshi.

"Er…could you give us a moment?" she asked him. Kenshi nodded and left, the puzzled look still plastered on his face. She turned back to Kitana. "Kitana, are you all right?" Kitana shook her head. "Did Liu-?" she shook her head again. "What's the matter?"

"Liu left the same day we talked, he still hasn't returned and he still hasn't contacted any one of us. I have a bad feeling about it."

"You think he got hurt or something?" Sub-zero's brows furrowed.

"It's so unlike him. He always calls." Kitana then smiled. "But I was able to tell him how I felt."

"Well, what did he say?" Sub-zero asked. She wanted to hear what Liu Kang had told her.

"He said he loved me too!" Kitana grinned. "He said he thought I never liked him and stuff like that! That's why he never told me!"

Sub-zero smiled. She seemed so happy. Is this the joy of finding someone you love?

"So, do you know where Liu Kang went?" she asked. Kitana shook her head sadly.

"He wouldn't tell. But," she straightened her back. "Raiden is looking for him as we speak. He said he'd only be back when he's already found Liu."

"I see. So he left too?" Sub-zero asked. Kitana nodded.

"Just a while ago." She said. She frowned. "I hope he finds him."

"Yes. I hope he does." Sub-zero replied. Kitana stood up, thanked her and went upstairs. Sub-zero lay back on the sofa. Women worry too much, she thought to herself. Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn't thanked Scorpion for the medicine yet.

She made a face. It wasn't easy for her to swallow her pride and actually thank her adversary. However, she had to do it. She stood up and went upstairs.

His room was on the second floor and he didn't share it with anybody. The others were too intimidated of Scorpion to share it with him. She knocked on the door softly, there was no response. She tried the door knob and found that it was unlocked. She opened the door. Just then, Scorpion stepped out of the bathroom…wearing only a towel. Sub-zero blushed and quickly turned around.

She caught a glimpse of his well-toned muscles and tanned chest. _I used to have those too. Stop thinking about his muscles dammit!_ She opened the door to run out and give him some privacy but he stopped her.

"I'll go change in the bathroom. You obviously came here to talk to me or something. " He said quickly as he grabbed something from his closet and, almost literally, ran to the bathroom. Sub-zero closed the door and sat on his bed, still blushing. After a few moments, he stepped out. He was wearing his usual attire.

"Sorry about that." Sub-zero scratched the back of her head.

Scorpion sat beside her and shrugged.

The two sat in silence until Sub-zero remembered why she actually went to his room.

"Scorpion?"

"Yes?" he seemed to be lost in thought.

"Thank you…for the medicine I mean." She said.

"You're welcome." Then silence ensued again. But the silence wasn't awkward. It was as if they were both already satisfied to be in each other's presence. Scorpion wasn't wearing his mask yet again.

"I have a question for you Scorpion." Sub-zero finally said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you tell me your past?" she cocked her head to the side.

Scorpion didn't answer.

"What I meant was, why tell me? I mean, you didn't want to tell the others, but you told me…I was wondering why you did…"

"…I don't really know…I just…you seem like a very likable and trustworthy person…and I felt like…it still feels like…" He didn't finish his sentence. He looked so uncomfortable. He looked…weak. A weak Scorpion was an image Sub-zero had never seen before.

"Like?"

"…I could tell you everything. You're an easy person to talk to. You don't ask random questions, you don't make fun of me…it felt…liberating to finally be able to talk to somebody about it. Someone who isn't Raiden." He added. At least he was opening up to her.

"I'm glad that you actually trust me." She said.

"I doubt you would lie to me." Scorpion half-smiled. Sub-zero's stomach felt queasy with guilt. She lied to him. She lied about her past and who she was. She even lied about her own name. Sub-zero smiled back, trying to hide the guilt making her uncomfortable. Scorpion stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go find something to eat."

"But I just ate." She said.

"Well, you could watch me eat." He said, and the two went downstairs and Scorpion ate sandwiches Kitana had made.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Okay. Stay put Zeiva!" Sub-zero sighed as she blew a strand of hair off her face. It was tiring to stand up for almost three hours.

"I hear you." She replied. It was uncomfortable to wear such a revealing outfit but Sub-zero had no choice in the matter. Jade, Ashrah and Sareena were dressing her up. They made her wear an outfit similar to Kitana's swim suit-like outfit but it was aqua colored. Its sleeves were made of a translucent, loose, light blue material and reached up to her wrists. "Do I really have to wear this?"

"Don't be such a baby! It suits you really well." Jade complimented. Ashrah was fixing Sub-zero's hair into braids.

"You should sit down now." Sareena made her sit down on a chair. Sub-zero tapped the floor with her foot lightly. Her boots were blue and black and reached up to her thighs. Sub-zero thanked the Gods silently when they finally decided not to make her wear high-heeled boots.

"All right, I'm done." Ashrah announced and the three stood back to admire their work. All of them were grinning.

"She's still missing something." Jade said. She opened her closet and searched it. She found what she was looking for. "Zeiva, wear this." She held her hand out. It was a necklace with a bluish crystal for a charm. Sub-zero took it and wore it around her neck.

"Perfect." Ashrah and Sareena grinned at her. "Come on! Let's go!" They grabbed her by her arm.

"Oh, no! I am _not_ going to let people see me like this." Sub-zero tried to pull away from their grasp, but fighting off three female kombatants was more than what the Lin Kuei grandmaster could handle.

They towed her out of the room and pushed her into the living room. They were showing her off as if she were a trophy. The people gaped at her when they entered. Sub-zero stared at the floor in embarrassment, one hand on her face. She looked up and met Scorpion's eyes. He looked dazed as he stared at her, and she focused on the floor again.

"Too bad I can't see anything." Kenshi sighed and the room was filled with laughter. Even Sub-zero laughed.

Jax whistled.

"You should wear that more often." He commented and Sonya hit him in the head and they laughed again.

"Can I take this off, now? Grandmaster Sub-zero doesn't make us wear such revealing outfits." she complained. It was odd to be refering to herself in third person.

"He better not. I'm the only one in the temple allowed to show some skin to him." Sareena quipped, and the rest of the team laughed. Sub-zero colored slightly. "And no, you can't take that off. It took us three hours to turn you into this. We will not let you ruin our masterpiece in mere seconds."

Sub-zero sighed, and sat down beside Kenshi and Scorpion.

"You know better than to show your skin off to everybody." Scorpion said. Sub-zero blushed and punched his arm playfully.

"It's not my fault. Jade, Ashrah and Sareena wanted to dress somebody up and they picked me." She shrugged. "As if I could fight them all off."

"Point taken." Scorpion replied.

"Kenshi, what time is it?" she out of the blue.

"I don't really know. It isn't as if I could 'see' it." He said sarcastically. Sub-zero could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"Oh. Sorry." She muttered.

"It's half-past four." Scorpion answered her question. He glowered at Kenshi. "Why do you ask?" He still continued on glaring at Kenshi.

"...Just thinking of what my clan might be doing at this time." Sub-zero replied. She looked upset at Kenshi's response.

"Sorry." He looked surly. He stood up and walked away. Scorpion frowned at his retreating figure. Suddenly, a loud ringing reached their ears and looked up to see Sonya checking her cellular phone. She raised her eyebrows.

"Who is it?" Cyrax asked.

"Raiden." Sonya answered the call. "Have you found-?" she stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened. "What do you mean-?" Her jaw fell.

"Raiden has a cellular phone?" Sub-zero asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we gave him one so he could contact any one of us." Jax explained. Sonya still looked as if she would faint anytime.

"Raiden…" she muttered in the receiver. "Come back here with his body…" Raiden's answer was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"I CAN MAKE DECISIONS ON MY OWN!" he shouted. Sonya was at a loss for words. It was the first time Sub-zero heard Raiden so angry. "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTACT ME. I WON'T BE ANSWERING ANYWAY. GOODBYE." Sonya stared at her phone. Kitana looked absolutely distraught.

"Sonya…what happened…? Is Liu all right…?" she asked. Sonya shook her head from side to side. She bit her lip and did her best to keep her voice steady.

"Liu Kang...has been…murdered by…Shang Tsung…" Kenshi, who had arrived at that moment, snarled at the mention of the name. Kitana fainted and Mokap caught her and laid her on the sofa. Sub-zero and Scorpion sat in silence.

"What happened?" Nightwolf asked.

"Quan Chi and Shang Tsung teamed up. Shang Tsung broke his neck." She paused. "I have no idea what Raiden has in mind…what he wants to do…he was so upset."

"Yeah, we heard." Johnny winced.

Sub-zero inhaled sharply. Kitana woke up. Sub-zero and Jade rushed to her side as she cried.

Their house was in mourning.

OoooooooO

Raiden didn't come back the next day. Sonya and the others became worried. Sub-zero stood on the balcony with Scorpion by her side. The two didn't speak to each other; they were already satisfied with being in each other's presence. Sub-zero was worried. Worried about Raiden…about Kitana…

"I feel so…sorry for Kitana." She said. Scorpion nodded.

"I know how she feels." He said.

"Scorpion? Do you miss your family?" she asked him. It took Scorpion a while before answering.

"I do…I miss them a lot. But I can't do anything about it now." He said.

Sub-zero looked at Scorpion's face. His family was undoubtedly a painful subject for him.

Sub-zero wrapped her arms around his waist. Scorpion stiffened and finally relaxed. He hugged her back. There in Scorpion's arms, she felt safe. She forgot all her worries.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

"Sonya..." Sub-zero rubbed her temples as she threw her cards on the floor. She slumped in her seat and eyed Sonya.

"Awww, come on, Zeiva. You know this game would be corny if less than seven people play it." Sonya reasoned. The others looked eager to play as well.

"But we've been playing it for like, three hours already!" Sub-zero complained. Scorpion nodded in assent.

"But everyone wants to play…"

"At least let me skip two rounds." She bargained. Sonya sighed and finally nodded and Sub-zero stood up and went outside the house with Scorpion. She sat down by the river and Scorpion mimicked her action.

"You're worried about Raiden, aren't you?" he asked.

Sub-zero frowned.

"He's been gone for over a week now." She replied. "I'm beginning to think he isn't coming back at all." It was so easy to talk to Scorpion. He patted her head.

"He'll be back." He tried to console her. She nodded. She stared at the flowing river. She touched it and almost immediately, the part she touched turned into ice.

"How do you do that?" Scorpion asked curiously. Sub-zero looked up, confused.

"Huh? What?" she asked.

"How do you freeze? Is it some sort of skill you master or are you born with it?" he asked. Sub-zero grinned and shrugged.

"I suppose I was born with it. But it isn't something that you could master overnight." She explained. "If my brother didn't teach me so well, I wouldn't have been able to freeze anything."

"Really? You're brother sounds like…a very decent person."

Sub-zero bit her lip shut. If Scorpion knew who her brother really was, 'decent' wouldn't be his first choice of words.

"I guess…" she replied uncomfortably and vaguely. Scorpion raised his eyebrow and Sub-zero avoided eye contact.

"So…what was your brother's name?" he asked trying to sound nonchalant. Sub-zero frowned.

"His name isn't important." She still didn't meet Scorpion's eyes. She stared at the river with sad eyes. Her brother became a wraith…it wasn't easy for her to talk about him.

"What happened to him?" his words burned with curiosity but it sounded like he didn't want to force the story out of her.

Sub-zero kept her eyes on the river. She took a deep breath.

"…He was a murderer." She blinked back the tears. _Whoa, Sub-zero. Getting a little too emotional, aren't we?_ "He wouldn't spare anyone…He was evil." She said with heaviness in her heart. "I didn't want to admit it at first but I saw the damage he's done. He died and somehow came back to life…and he seeks to destroy me."

"…I'm sorry."

_Wow, Scorpion? Sympathizing with me?_

Sub-zero looked at him and smiled sadly.

"Don't worry about it."

The two sat in silence for a long time until they heard someone scream. They jumped in surprise.

"What was that?" Sub-zero asked as they ran towards the direction of the voice. Scorpion didn't answer and the two continued on running. They reached edge of the mountain and they saw an old man hanging on for his dear life. They hurried over to him. Sub-zero pulled him up. He panted.

"Look out!" the old man shouted. Sub-zero looked quickly behind her and was hit by what seemed to be a spark. She flew back and was thrown off the cliff.

"Zeiva!" Scorpion shouted.

She summoned her Kori Blade as quickly as she could and plunged it into the rocky structure in front of her. As she came to a stop, she summoned two small ice daggers, much like Frost's weapons and used them to climb back up.

The old man took Sub-zero's hand and pulled her up. She ducked just in time to evade another spark that was sent her direction.

Seeing her unscathed, Scorpion turned towards his enemy. He was a Tarkatan. Sub-zero had already seen him before; he was an ally of Shao Kahn. Scorpion drew out his spear and threw it towards the creature's direction.

"Get over here!"

The end of the spear impaled itself into Baraka's chest. And as Scorpion tugged at his spear, the Tarkatan was pulled along with it. Scorpion took hold of his spear and kicked Baraka. The spear left a gaping wound on his chest. Baraka growled at him. Sub-zero's eyes widened as she saw large blades come from both of his arms.

Scorpion unsheathed his own blade and thrust it in front of him in an effort to block Baraka's blades. He crouched down in an attempt to knock Baraka off his feet. The Tarkatan jumped up and brought his blades down on Scorpion. He rolled away, but one of his blades managed to slice his stomach.

Baraka smirked-at least, that was how it looked to Sub-zero. Scorpion retaliated with his own move. He backed up a few meters, took his mask off and spewed out fire.

The tarkatan, now, half-burnt decided to retreat.

"One day, hellspawn!" he shouted as he disappeared into the forest. Scorpion fell to his knees and clutched his side.

"Do you need help?" she asked worriedly. He grunted before shaking his head and standing up.

He turned to the old man. "Come on, old man."

The three went through the forest and back to the house. Kitana opened the door for them and let them in. Scorpion went upstairs, in need of a bath. Sub-zero and Kitana interrogated the old man.

"Who are you?" Sub-zero asked.

"First, let me thank you, stranger. If you hadn't found me, I would have been dead by now." He bowed his head.

"Don't mention it. By the way, please call me, S-Zeiva." She almost slipped.

He nodded.

"My name is Shujinko. I am…a bearer of bad news." He finished lamely. However, Kitana seemed to be intrigued.

"Bearer of bad news?" she asked.

Shujinko sighed. "Do you know the story of the Dragon King?" he asked. The two shook their heads. "Millennia ago, there was a ruler of Outworld named, Onaga. He was known as the Dragon King. His army was unbeatable because he could use his heart to resurrect anyone he wishes to. He had all a King could wish for but no…he wanted more. He wanted to gain immortality. Therefore, he ordered his followers to hide and guard the last Dragon Egg in hopes that its blood would somehow grant him immortality…That same night, he was poisoned by one of his chief advisers…Shao Kahn." The two gasped and he paused to let the information sink into their brains.

"What are you telling us about him if he's already dead?" Kitana asked.

Shujinko sighed and let his shoulders slump.

"That's the bad news…He's back…and I am to blame." He said. The two stared at him, not comprehending.

"So this Onaga…he's back?" Kitana's voice was barely audible. "But why did you bring him back?" He frowned at her.

"Young lady, do you think that if I had known that he was Onaga, I would have freed him?" he asked in an insulted tone.

She shook her head.

"Onaga tricked me into collecting the Kamidogu for him. In the process, the dragon egg hatched and sent its energy to a Saurian named 'Reptile'. Onaga then used the transformed body of Reptile and fulfilled the prophecy. Onaga absorbed the Kamidogu's power and has now become more powerful than anyone."

"Dear Elder Gods." Sub-zero and Kitana said with wide eyes. He nodded.

"Not to mention Quan Chi and Shang Tsung's alliance." He added. Kitana snarled at the name but Sub-zero remained motionless with bewilderment.

"Quan Chi and Shang Tsung allied with each other?" she finally managed to ask. _Oh yeah. They killed Liu Kang..._

He nodded.

"Yes. The thunder god person - Raiden if I'm not mistaken - tried to stop them. But then, he was ultimately defeated. But their victory was short-lived." He said grimly. "Onaga came in and the members of the Deadly Alliance, and the recovering Raiden had tried to kill him. But even their combined energy wasn't enough. They were defeated and now, Onaga has allied himself with the Tarkatans, his new army." He finished his story.

Sub-zero didn't notice but others also listened to Shujinko's story. Kenshi, Ermac, Sonya, Cyrax, Nightwolf and Jax were in the living room as well.

"What can we do?" Sonya asked. "Even Raiden, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi…" she shook her head.

"Do not lose hope young one." He replied. "I will need all the help I can get. Are you all who reside in this house? If not please call the others, I would appreciate it if you would help me." Sonya nodded and went off to call the others.

After about a minute, the rest went into the living room as well. They were all standing up because of the tension they felt. Shujinko was at the center of the room.

"First, we must eliminate his source of power, his Kamidogu." He said. "It wouldn't be an easy task. I'd bet my life the place would be guarded like a fortress." He warned. "After doing so, we must find a way to seal his soul to the Netherrealm."

"Yeah, but how?" Jade asked. "I don't think there is any way to do that…"

"There is one way…" Nightwolf spoke for the first time. Shujinko nodded at him to elaborate. "It is called, the Sin Eater. I have absorbed the sins of my tribe." He paused. "I would have to go to the Netherrealm, draw Onaga's soul to me and unleash my people's sins, ultimately binding him to the Netherrealm." He finished.

Shujinko nodded.

Sub-zero thought that the old man was doing so even though he didn't really understand what Nightwolf was saying. Hell, even Sub-zero didn't understand what he said.

"I'm counting on you." Shujinko said. "We have to at least divide into groups." They nodded. "How many are we?"

"Eighteen. Oh, seventeen. Fujin left the other day." Sub-zero answered.

"I'll be in Netherrealm at that time so you'll only be sixteen."

"We will polarize into three groups. Two groups will be made up of five; one group will be made up of six. You could pick your own members if you want." He added.

They all fought over the groupings. In the end, they got it all settled. Group one consisted of Jade, Kitana, Sareena, Li Mei, Ashrah and Kung Lao. Group two was made up of Sonya, Johnny, Cyrax, Jax, and Mokap. The last group consisted of Sub-zero, Scorpion, Shujinko, Kenshi and Ermac.

"All right, now that we all have that settled, we will begin our attack tomorrow."

They all nodded and went to their respective rooms.

After a moment, Sub-zero went to Scorpion's room. She knocked on the door lightly.

"Come in." Scorpion's voice answered. She let herself in and saw Scorpion trying to put the bandage on properly. The intense concentration on his face made Sub-zero laugh. He scowled at her. She made her way to his bed.

"Need help?" she offered.

"I do not." He said stubbornly as he continued to wrap his bandage around his stomach, though unsuccessfully.

Sub-zero's chuckle turned into fullblown laughter when the bandage slipped from grasp.

He sighed. "Maybe I _do_ need some help."

"Was that too, difficult?" she asked.

"Yes." Scorpion replied without hesitation, and Sub-zero shook her head at him.

She took the bandage and helped him wrap it around his body. "There." She said. Sub-zero looked up and blushed at their proximity. They were literally centimeters away from each other. Scorpion raised one hand and touched her cheek, which undoubtedly turned red the moment he did so.

Sub-zero could hear the pounding of her heart. It was so fast it actually hurt. He inclined his head to the side. Sub-zero forgot how to breathe as his face was nearing hers. She shut her eyes and tried to calm herself. He merely brushed his lips over hers. Their lips barely touched, but Sub-zero almost lost it.

Scorpion pulled back, also blushing. "Uhh...Thank you." He said and he lay back down. Sub-zero hummed the tune he always used to sing and soon enough, Scorpion fell asleep. As she was about to stand up, and arm grabbed her from behind and she fell back onto the bed. Scorpion held her still. At first, she thought he was awake and fooling her, but soon enough, she realized he really was asleep. She tried to break free from his grasp, but he hugged her tighter. She sighed. So as not to wake him, she snuggled closer to him and after a few moments, she fell asleep in Scorpion's arms.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

The light was coming from the east. _Strange,_ Sub-zero thought to herself. The light always came from her left window, unless it was afternoon. She then realized that she was too comfortable. Usually, when she woke up, she felt cold and alone, but somehow, she felt so warm and relaxed. Only then, did she remember what happened last night; only then did she feel the arm wrapped around her waist.

Sub-zero opened her eyes, and she clamped her mouth shut to prevent her from screaming. Scorpion's face was inches, centimeters rather, away from hers. He was sleeping peacefully. His face was void of the bitter and sad aura that almost always surrounded him. He looked like an angel. Sub-zero tried to squirm her way out of Scorpion's arms but eventually stopped when she found that there was no point in doing so. Finally after a few moments, Scorpion's eyelids fluttered open. The two stared at each other for a long time.

"Did I wake you?" Sub-zero asked softly. Scorpion stared at her. He lifted his hand and brushed her cheek. Sub-zero felt her cheeks grow hot.

"Zeiva?" he asked groggily. He looked dazed. "How strange…"

Sub-zero rolled her eyes. "You're incoherent…maybe you should go back to sleep." She said. "But before you do…do you mind letting go of me first?" she asked. Scorpion looked at her confusedly but soon enough, comprehension dawned on his face and he quickly let go of her. Sub-zero climbed out of the bed.

"Sorry about crashing in your bed." Sub-zero apologized.

"Why did you sleep on my bed?" he demanded. He still seemed a bit dazed. Sub-zero sighed.

"You grabbed me in your sleep. I didn't want to wake you up so I just slept there." Sub-zero replied.

"Oh." He said. The two went downstairs. None of the others were awake yet. They sat down on the dining table.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Sub-zero asked him. Scorpion raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"You can cook?"

Sub-zero almost snorted.

"What, you think I train all day?" she asked matter-of-factly. Scorpion changed color, it was one of the few times he actually did.

"I guess I didn't think about that." He muttered in embarrassment.

Sub-zero grinned at him. "I used to sneak into the kitchen when I was young...er." she added. "I used to find cooking fascinating back then..." she shook her head and laughed.

"You want eggs?" she asked.

Scorpion nodded. Sub-zero took the pan out and poured some oil into it. She took some eggs from the refrigerator. "Sunny-side up, Hard-boiled, Soft-boiled or Scrambled?" she asked him.

"Whichever." He replied.

Sub-zero raised an eyebrow. "Scrambled it is." She broke the eggs open and cooked it. "Could you look for the bread?" she asked. He nodded and went to look for the loaf. He found it in the cupboard.

"Why the Netherrealm is the bread in the cupboard?" Sub-zero asked. Scorpion took a slice out and tasted it.

"It hasn't expired yet." He said.

"Do you think I should cook more eggs? Just in case the others get hungry too?" she asked Scorpion.

He merely shrugged.

Sub-zero sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

When Sub-zero had finished cooking, the two sat down and ate in silence. Kenshi and Ermac appeared in the dining area.

"Good morning." The two greeted Sub-zero and Scorpion. Sub-zero returned the greeting and Scorpion nodded at them.

"Well, today is the day." Kenshi said. "Maybe in the process, I'll be able to kill Shang Tsung." He said hopefully.

"We-I thought we agreed that we-I would kill him." Ermac argued. Kenshi frowned and shook his head.

"He blinded me! I get to kill him!" Kenshi countered.

"Well he manipulated us...me," he corrected himself when Sub-zero gave him a pointed look. "into doing Shao Kahn's bidding!" The two continued their argument hotly. Sub-zero and Scorpion sat there, watching them in amusement.

"Let's do it this way then," Kenshi said. "The first one who reaches him gets to kill him." Ermac looked deep in thought and he nodded.

"Agreed." He said. "May the best man win." And the two shook their hands, grinning.

"Now, now, let's not forget about our real mission." Sub-zero told the two of them.

Both stared at her, not comprehending.

"What is that?" Ermac asked.

Sub-zero rolled her eyes and Scorpion shook his head.

"We're going to defeat Onaga, remember?" and the two gave her an 'Ohhh…' look. "You two are impossible." They grinned at her sheepishly.

Everyone seemed to wake up all at the same time. Suddenly, everybody else was making their way to the kitchen. Jax, Kung Lao and Shujinko were the only ones who were able to eat, the others were too nervous to eat. When they had finished, Shujinko spoke.

"We've already divided into three groups; we need some sort of way to communicate." He said. Sonya offered the cell phones since they were probably the only things they could use. He nodded. "The leader will carry these phones." He said. Kitana took a phone, as well as Shujinko.

"There are three ways we could get into the temple." He explained. "By the east entrance, the front entrance and the underground entrance. The front entrance is the most guarded place, therefore the group of six should be able to get in through there." Kitana nodded. "My group will be the one entering the underground." Sub-zero and the rest of the group nodded. "Therefore, the Special Forces will be entering through the east."

"Is there anything that we should be expecting?" Cyrax asked him.

The old man smiled.

"Be prepared to fight a multitude of people, and be ready to endure injuries." Shujinko replied. "When I say, 'a multitude' I do not mean ten or twenty, I mean forty to fifty." They gulped but nodded.

"Let us go then." He said.

OoooooooO

The first part of the plan went well enough. The guards were distracted by the sudden appearance of the Earthrealm warriors and didn't notice Shujinko and the others slip into the underground entrance.

The place was dark and eerie. Scorpion used his fire to light up a piece of wood they used as a torch. The entrance was long but all of them, except Shujinko, were too nervous to speak.

"I am sorry for dragging all of you youngsters here." He said.

"We aren't all _that_ young Grandpa." Kenshi said and they laughed quietly. "It's quite all right. Besides, we want to help in every way we can."

Shujinko smiled in gratitude.

Silence ensued once again. Shujinko then signaled that they had reached the main chamber. They heaved the stone and they were able to slip through the hole. No one was in the room.

Sub-zero frowned. "It's too quiet." she mouthed to Scorpion, who, in turn, nodded at her words.

"I think it would be best if we split up." Shujinko said.

Sub-zero glanced at Scorpion and the two separated from the group and quietly walked towards one of the rooms connected to the main chamber.

Scorpion once looked behind them as they walked.

"Keep going." he whispered.

Sub-zero merely nodded as they made their way towards one of the rooms. As Sub-zero heaved the stone door open, she found that it was too heavy for her. She sighed in annoyance. If she were still a guy, she would have been able to open it.

"Scorpion, could you help me with-," she stopped when she turned around and found that Scorpion was no where in sight. "Scorpion!" she hissed. "Damn it. Where the hell is that ninja?" she muttered. She turned back to the door but looked to her right when she heard footsteps.

She tensed her body, and took on a defensive stance. When the figure emerged, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was Kitana.

"Oh, it's only you." Sub-zero said. "What are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to be-," she was cut off as she evaded Kitana's fan as it sailed past her. She stood up. "Kitana? Are you feeling all right?" she asked warily.

Kitana's answer was a swift kick aimed at her chest. Sub-zero winced in pain as she ducked to avoid another kick sent her direction.

_What the heck's wrong with her?_ Sub-zero thought as she formed her sword in her hand. She raised it just in time to block Kitana's fan as it was brought down on her. She took a step back to evade yet another deadly slice sent her direction. Sub-zero knocked Kitana off her feet and grasped her wrist.

"Sorry Kitana." she said. She focused her energy on Kitana and froze her. She backed away from her and scrutinized her face. It seemed void of all emotion. Which was strange considering that it was Kitana.

She heard another pair of footsteps heading her way. She tore her eyes from Kitana and looked to her right.

"Sonya." she acknowledge. "There's something wrong with..." she stopped as she noticed the same passive look on Sonya's face.

_By the Elder Gods,_ she thought as Sonya charged towards her. She crossed her arms in front of her face to block Sonya's punch, and did a back flip to avoid her kick. She glanced at Kitana, and saw that the Edenian princess was starting to regain consciousness.

"Damn. That was fast." she said to no one in particular. She grimaced at the thought of fighting both of them at the same time.

Sub-zero threw a punch at Sonya, who, in turn, attempted to kick her in the stomach. She took a few steps back and stared at Sonya. _Desperate times call for desperate measures._ she thought. As Sonya started to run to her, the said blonde slipped and hit her head on the pavement, rendering her unconscious.

It was a cheap shot, but Sub-zero could care less at the moment. She had frozen the floor in front of Sonya. And the slippery surface was the cause of her losing balance.

She walked over to the recovering Kitana, and froze her again, along with Sonya, this time. As she stood up, another figure emerged from the darkness.

"Are you all right?" Scorpion asked. He glanced at the two and frowned. "What the hell happened?" he asked her.

"Oh. _Now_ you appear. Where the hell were you?" she did not answer his question, but she was annoyed.

"For your information, I was fighting two Tarkatans. They were stalking us the moment we separated from the group." he said matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And you did not answer my question."

Sub-zero sighed in annoyance. "Probably mind control." she said as she gestured towards the two. As he approached her, she noticed the bloodstains on his uniform.

"See?" he pointed at it. "Proof."

"By the Elder Gods." Sub-zero rolled her eyes.

The two made their way back to the door and they heaved it open. They entered the room and looked around. There was nothing in it.

_What a waste of time. What_ are_ we looking for anyway?_

"There's nothing here." Scorpion voiced her thoughts. She did not acknowledge his answer. She was still half-annoyed at his disappearing act a while ago.

"Zeiva?" he asked. She ignored him and walked around the room to make sure there really was nothing inside. "Hello?" She started walking back to the doorway that led to the main hall, but Scorpion grasped her arm.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he asked her in a deadly low voice.

"Why do you think I am?" she looked up and met his eyes. For some reason, it irked her that he had disappeared without so much as a warning. Why? She had no idea.

"...because I left you to fend for yourself? I assumed you could have done that quite easily." he said sarcastically. She growled and snatched her arm away from him.

"Ugh." she sighed. "You just don't get it. I was-," she stopped when she realized what she was going to say. _Holy Hell._ she thought. _Was I worried about Scorpion?_

"You were?" he asked expectantly and he raised his eyebrow when a tinge of pink appeared on Sub-zero's face.

"Nothing." she replied quickly, cursing herself silently.

"I am _not_ taking that as an answer." he scowled at her. "Now tell me, why are you so,-"

"Because I was worried." Sub-zero blurted out. _Great. You are such a genius Sub-zero._

Scorpion was stunned. Whatever answer he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "You were worried?"

"You weren't where you were supposed to be, of course I was worried." she answered as she looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak. "I..." he was at a loss for words.

"Let's go regroup with the others. We don't even know what we're looking for." she said. The two went out of the room.

"I thought we were looking for the Kamidogu."

"Then we should look for Onaga." Sub-zero said. "He wouldn't separate himself from his source of power."

"You're probably right...but isn't that suicide?"

Sub-zero stopped in her tracks.

"Holy Hell." she whispered.

"What?"

"Sonya and Kitana are missing." she pointed to the spot where she left both Sonya and Kitana. "Let's just go find Shujinko and the others."

"Zeiva! Scorpion!" a voice said urgently.

"It appears as if they've found us." Scorpion said glancing over her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw Kenshi, Ermac and Shujinko running towards them.

"What happened to you?" Sub-zero asked Kenshi. He had multiply cuts along his limbs and his chest was sliced.

"Kung Lao happened." he grimaced.

"Onaga has the power to revive anyone and turn them into his minions." Shujinko explained. "She was killed a while ago." he said. "Onaga has already been alerted to our presence. He knows that we have already entered this place."

As soon as he spoke the words, the earth shook. The warriors leaned on the wall for support. Heavy footsteps were heard, followed by what sounded like a marching army.

They shifted their gazes towards the largest door in the room as it began to open.

Scorpion put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Kenshi and Ermac gnashed their teeth. Shujinko squinted. And Sub-zero widened her eyes at the sight before her.

_Dear Elder Gods._


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

_What in the…?_ She thought.

Standing a few meters from them were their allies, all seemingly void of emotion, alongside the Tarkatan horde led by Baraka. Behind them was Onaga, Sub-zero presumed. She could barely make out his silhouette in the dark room.

"Destroy them." a deep voice said, and almost at once, heavy footsteps were heard once more. The silhouette blended with the darkness of the room, and could no longer be seen.

As Sub-zero stared at the horde in front of her, she noticed a small, black object flying towards her. As she what it was, she ducked, as Kung Lao's hat whizzed past her. She summoned her Kori Blade, and shoved it in front of her face just in time to block an attack from a Tarkatan.

Their faces were inches apart, and Sub-zero could smell his breath.

_MY GOD._

He sliced upwards, his blade nearly cutting her across the chest, and Sub-zero jumped backwards, accidentally stabbing the Tarkatan she did not even know was behind her. She glanced at it briefly before sliding her blade out of its, now, dead body.

_That was convenient._ She thought as she parried another blow from the Tarkatan in front of her. He growled and lunged using his bladed arm. Sub-zero blocked his attack; however, she was too slow to block the second one, and she fell to her knees in pain. Her shin was burning, and she could feel her already destroyed left boot getting wet with blood.

She looked up and was surprised to see her assailant being levitated in the air and thrown across the room. She looked behind her and grinned at her savior.

"I guess I owe you one." She thanked him, as she stood up. Her wound was painful, but she had worse cuts before. Before she could say anything else, she shoved Kenshi out of the way, and froze a Tarkatan that attempted to stab him from behind.

Kenshi stood up and shoved his blade into the Tarkatan.

"Talk about backstabbing, eh?" he grinned at Sub-zero.

"Ha, ha." She laughed sarcastically at his corny joke.

"So I guess we're even now?" he chuckled before running towards a Tarkatan and punching him in the face.

She heard a low growl somewhere from her left.

It was Scorpion.

He was doing battle with two Tarkatans _and_ the Edenian Princess.

That was all she saw, for the next thing she felt was hot, searing pain. She looked down to see the Tarkatan Kenshi had stabbed had crawled towards her and stabbed her leg with his blade. Sub-zero took her Kori Blade and sliced his head off.

Sub-zero fell on her knees. The pain in her leg was unbearable. She took hold of the blade, took a deep breath and pulled it out of her leg as quickly as she could.

She was exhaled in a scream, and tried to breath as regularly as she could. She was losing blood…fast. She looked around

She looked again, to Scorpion's direction, wondering if he was having better luck than she was.

He was not.

Scorpion's weapon was kicked out of his hand, by one Tarkatan, and the other sliced upwards. He executed a back flip. As he landed, however, he slipped on the polished floor and fell backwards.

Sub-zero felt her body move, and the next thing she knew, she was in front of Scorpion, Kori Blade blocking his adversary's attack. How she got there so fast was surprising, considering her injury.

She heard Scorpion stand up. Something whizzed past her, impaling the Tarkatan behind the one she was fighting.

"Get over here!" she heard him say as she evaded the Tarkatan as it was being pulled towards him.

Sub-zero kicked her enemy on the chest (using her uninjured leg, of course) and as he staggered backwards, froze him and sliced him in half.

She jumped up as Kitana threw her fan at ducked as it turned around like a boomerang, a returned to the warrior princess. Kitana took on her stance and charged towards her; and ultimately, slipped on the ice path in front of her.

Sub-zero panted after finishing her fight. She had grimaced at the thought of using the same cheap move _twice_ that day, but she supposed it was better than getting killed. Her vision was blurring, probably due to the blood loss, and she tried to look around for something she could use as a bandage.

She glanced at Kitana. The Edenian had always worn little clothing, and she couldn't rip any part of Kitana's clothing to use as bandage without uncovering something she was sure Kitana did not want everybody to see.

Sub-zero retreated to a dark corner in the temple. She sighed as she undid her own belt and wrapped her leg with it. She gasped in pain as she tightened the bandage.

She took off her blue tunic and tossed it aside, it was going to fall off without the belt anyway. Plus, she had many of those back in her stronghold.

She surveyed the area, before stepping out into the open again.

Kitana was regaining consciousness again, and Sub-zero crept behind her and hit her in the head. She fell back asleep again.

Sub-zero rubbed her knuckles. The Edenian princess' head was surprisingly hard.

"Talk about hard-headed." She commented, and then shook her head at once. "Now I'm starting to sound like Kenshi."

"I believe I heard my name." she heard to her left along with the clashing of blades. Sub-zero turned towards the voice. _Speak of the devil…_

"And you heard it right." She replied, side-stepping to avoid the attack of yet another Tarkatan and grabbing his neck and freezing its body.

Tossing it aside, Sub-zero turned back to Kenshi and watched him throw Kung Lao across the room telekinetically.

"You're hurt." Kenshi said, pointing at her Sub-zero.

Sub-zero raised her eyebrow at him. "How'd you know?"

He shrugged at her. "I just do." He frowned. "Y'know, maybe you should r--,"

"No." Sub-zero cut him off. "I hate feeling useless."

Kenshi frowned and shrugged before turning back and charging towards Kung Lao, who was struggling to get up.

Sub-zero tried her best to move quickly without limping, but she winced at each step she took. Then, something hit her from the back, knocking her off balance and falling over. And the person who fell on her happened to land on her injured leg.

Pain shot through her body. She muffled her scream with her hands.

The pressure on her leg left, but the pain remained. She heard someone stand up, and a panicked voice called her name.

"Zeiva! Zeiva!" She faintly heard a voice calling her. She forced open her eyes, and saw the blurred figure of Scorpion in front of her.

"S-scorpion?" She said in between gasps. The pain in her leg was unbearable.

"What's wrong? Why are you…" his voice trailed off into a surprised gasp, no doubt finally seeing her injury. Sub-zero looked at her bloody leg. He swore out loud.

"Go and help Shujinko." She said in the steadiest voice she could muster.

"And leave you here?!" Scorpion exclaimed. "I won't leave you." He grasped Sub-zero's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. At that precise moment, Sub-zero was glad both of them were wearing masks. If not, she might not have had the willpower to resist kissing him on the spot.

Somebody coughed behind the two of them. Sub-zero tilted her head and was greeted by a frowning Ermac.

"What happened?"

"Injured leg." Scorpion frowned as Ermac kneeled down and examined her bloodied leg. Scorpion unsheathed his weapon and slashed a Tarkatan. He lifted his weapon and took on defensive stance, ready to shield them from any incoming attack.

"We…I don't think it's cracked." Ermac corrected himself as he took the very bloody bandage off her shin. Almost at once, blood poured out of her wound quickly. Ermac applied pressure on her wound. "Zeiva, you need to put something frozen on this wound to stop it from bleeding."

_Why didn't I think of that?_ she mentally smacked herself.

Sub-zero concentrated her energy and touched her shin with her hand. Almost at once, she could feel the pain numbing.

"That could work too." Scorpion commented glancing at the pair before setting yet another Tarkatan on fire.

"Breathe." Ermac instructed her. In her concentration, she had actually forgotten to breathe. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "We think the bleeding has stopped."

She sighed in relief.

"But we still need to bandage your wound." Ermac stated. He took off the cloth covering his face, and started to wrap it around her leg. "And we are not using that very bloody…" he trailed off, and a blush formed on his face. "You used your clothes?" Ermac stuttered.

_What was he saying?_

Sub-zero was surprised at Ermac's sudden discomfort…then as she glanced down at herself, she remembered that she took off her tunic. She flushed lightly.

"Not my clothes actually." she tried to sound nonchalant, but failed in doing so. She stood up shakily. "I used my belt, and well, I discarded my tunic because, well, it was going to fall off anyway without it." She noticed that at this point, Scorpion was also staring at her.

"Where's Shujinko?" she said, in an attempt to change the topic. She surveyed the area.

She was surprised to see her other allies also fighting the Tarkatan horde and the possessed kombatants. They finally managed to get past the horde in the main entrance.

_When did they get here?_

She saw everyone, except Shujinko.

"He probably went after Onaga." Scorpion scowled. "I'll go help him."

"We'll back you up." Sub-zero spoke and Ermac nodded in assent.

The three made their way through the battlefield with surprising ease. The other kombatants, noticing their intention to go and help Shujinko, did their best to keep the trio's path clear of Tarkatans. As they reached the entrance to the room where Onaga was, two Tarkatans tackled both Ermac and Sub-zero from behind.

Sub-zero discombobulated her adversary by pounding on his head twice. As he was momentarily distracted, she looked back at Scorpion, who had stopped at the doorway, torn between helping them and helping Shujinko.

"Go!" Sub-zero ordered him. Scorpion nodded at her sharply, and ran into the room, disappearing from her sight. She turned her attention back to her enemy. She kicked him using her uninjured leg and froze his head. She took hold of it and pulled it off.

As she stood up and discarded the severed head, she couldn't help but think how gruesome that Tarkatan's death was.

_I mean, I pulled his head off._ she frowned at the thought.

"We suggest that we just stay and prevent our enemies from aiding the Dragon King." Ermac appeared beside her.

"But shouldn't we go help them?"

"You go ahead, I have to do something about the mind control thing…" Ermac trailed off, deep in thought.

Sub-zero nodded and headed into the room. The numbness in her leg was starting to wear off. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dark. She heard a loud roar, and she hastened her pace towards them.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the Dragon King.

He was _intimidating_ to say the least.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard groaning to her left. Turning towards the voice, she saw Scorpion massaging his head lightly. She ran towards him and helped him up.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.

"Yeah." They heard the Dragon King roar once more, and the two glanced over to where Shujinko was battling with him. They were a few meters away from them, and the altar where the Kamidogu were placed. Out of the six, only two were left.

Sub-zero raised an eyebrow as she saw one of her techniques being used by Onaga.

Without another word, Scorpion raced towards the altar. Sub-zero, quite sure that they needed to destroy the Kamidogu, followed closely behind him, trying to ignore the pain of her limbs.

Onaga, hearing them approach, turned to their direction, and spit a fireball at them.

Sub-zero jumped forward, grabbed Scorpion from behind, and both fell to the ground. The fireball missed them by inches.

"Thanks." Scorpion nodded at her as the two stood up and continued their way to the altar. Onaga had sent a multitude of fireballs toward their direction, but none of them found its mark.

"How do you destroy it?" Sub-zero asked as they reached it, ducking as Onaga's arms swung her way. She gritted her teeth, the pain in her leg was returning.

"Just smash it or something." Came Shujinko's voice somewhere to her left. Scorpion jumped up high into the air and plunged his sword into Onaga's chest. Somehow, it didn't hurt him too much. But just enough to distract him.

Sub-zero grabbed one of the Kamidogu, and threw it to the ground with as much force as she could muster. When it didn't smash into tiny pieces as she had hoped it would, she summoned her sword and used it to crush the Kamidogu.

One Kamidogu left.

She evaded Scorpion's sword as Onaga threw it at her. She threw her sword at Onaga in return, but he merely swept it aside using his arm. She jumped to her left to avoid a punch directed towards her. As she landed, she felt pain on her injured leg.

She saw Onaga charging towards her, but she was rooted to the place. She could not move her injured foot, it was too painful for her to do so. Seeing no other option, she braced for impact, her arms raised to shield her face.

Then he hit her.

The force was strong enough to throw her a few feet back. As she hit the pavement and slid down to the ground, she struggled to remain consciousness.

Her whole body was sore, and she couldn't move a muscle.

The last thing she heard was the crushing of rock and the roar of the Dragon King, before she lost her consciousness.

--

"…va…eiva…Zeiva." She heard a voice calling her. As she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Scorpion, looking down at her worriedly. They were still in the temple, she noticed, and somebody had moved her into a sitting position…Scorpion most probably.

"The fight's over, we won." Scorpion told her. "Shujinko managed to defeat him…and the Tarkatan horde retreated eventually."

She tried to nod.

At that moment, Kenshi, Ermac and Shujinko approached them. The two frowned as they saw the state she was in.

"What happened to you?" they asked at the same time.

"A lot." Was her only reply. She tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground just as quickly.

"You're injured. I'll carry you." Scorpion said as he held out his hands. Kenshi and Ermac looked outraged. "So that you don't have to walk all the way to the house."

Before Sub-zero could reply, Kenshi spoke.

"No, I'll carry her!" Kenshi butted in. He appeared to be eager.

"I'll save you the trouble." Ermac suddenly said holding his arms out like the rest of them were.

"No it's fine, I'll carry her." Scorpion insisted.

"I will!" Kenshi argued.

"You two are dead tired, I'll carry her!" Ermac said. Sub-zero looked at them quizzically. She was wondering why they were fighting over who should carry her. She looked at Shujinko. He appeared to be amused. They were bantering like little children for a long time until Sub-zero decided to stop it.

"I'll just walk on my own." She shook her head.

As she struggled to stand up, somebody knocked her off her feet and it was only after a few moments when she realized that Scorpion was carrying her. The two protested.

"Hey! She said she wanted to walk!" Kenshi shouted at him.

"She wants to walk! She doesn't want to be carried by you!" Ermac called after them. Sub-zero sighed and Scorpion didn't reply. He continued to walk.

Her body ached as she was being carried, but for some reason, she didn't mind as much when she remembered it was Scorpion who was carrying her.

To her surprise, Scorpion started singing.

After a few moments, Sub-zero felt her eyelids grow heavier. She didn't fight them. She believed she had earned the well-deserved sleep. All of them did.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

"Scorpion?" she asked with uncertainty. He looked murderous. He was clutching his spear in his hand. She lifted her hand and placed it on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.

"Keep your hands off me!" he spat. Sub-zero cringed. What had she done?

"W-what did I do?" she asked. Tears were forming in her eyes. He stepped forward and she stepped back.

"Sub-zero." He said her name acidly. She flinched as he did. _How did he know?_ She was at a loss for words. There was only hatred in his eyes. Pure hatred.

"I'm right, aren't I?" He laughed coldly. He stopped abruptly and drew his sword. Sub-zero barely dodged Scorpion's sword as it was swung towards her. Sub-zero ran down the stairs, evading Scorpion's spear. She rammed into Liu Kang, He looked, different. His skin was color blue and his chest had multiple cuts on it. She stared, horrified, as she comprehended.

Liu Kang was a zombie. Sub-zero backed away from him and she was slashed by someone from behind. As she fell on the floor, she noticed that it was Scorpion. He stared at her emotionlessly.

"Please…Scorpion…" she panted. Scorpion lifted his blade and drove it into her.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero woke up, her pillow barely muffling her scream. She sat up and wiped her eyes; they were full of tears. She almost screamed when she saw Li Mei's head upside down, looking at her worriedly.

"Are you alright?" Li Mei asked her. "Wait." She climbed down from her bed and Sub-zero finally understood why her head was upside-down. "All right, I'm listening." She sat down beside Sub-zero. She smiled weakly.

"Don't worry about me, it was just a bad dream." She tried to shrug it off but Scorpion's cold stare was forever imprinted in her memory.

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically. Sub-zero nodded and Li Mei got out of her bed, and climbed back onto her own. Sub-zero lay back down. She remembered Scorpion's glare. Would that really be how he would react when he would find out who she really was?

After a few moments of staring at the mattress of Li Mei's bed, Sub-zero stood up and went out of the room. She went down the stairs and paused as she reached the end of it.

"Should I cook or should I train?" she asked herself out loud. It was five-thirty in the morning and no one was awake yet. She stood there for awhile. "I'll train." She finally decided. She opened the door and went to the clearing. She breathed in deeply. Then, she began training.

She did not know how long she had been training, but just when she had finished her strokes with her sword, somebody applauded her from behind.

"Well done." He said. She turned around and found Scorpion a few feet behind her. He smiled at her. Her heart was pounding. He raised an eyebrow at her. "You look…panicked. Are you all right?" he asked. She managed to nod at his question. "Sure?"

"What makes you think I'm not okay?" she laughed shakily. Scorpion ruffled her hair and shook his head.

"Maybe I worry too much." He said. Flashes of her dream played in her head but she tried to focus on Scorpion's face. He flashed a grin towards her direction. She smiled back in response.

"Let's go back in." he beckoned to her. And the two went back inside and ate breakfast.

OoooooooO

There were only a few of them left in the house. Sonya, Jax, Johnny, Kitana, Jade, Shujinko, Mokap, and Nightwolf had already left the house the day before. Sonya, Jax, Johnny and Mokap had their Special Forces' duties to attend to. Kitana and Jade said that it was time for them to return home to Edenia, and Nightwolf had some business to attend to. So the only ones left in the house were Sub-zero, Scorpion, Kenshi, Ermac, Sareena, Li Mei, Ashrah, and Kung Lao.

Yet again, Kenshi had found a way to start another fight with Scorpion. She didn't remember what he had said but it got Scorpion pretty angry. Sub-zero's brow twitched as she watched the two shout at each other from across the table. The others have already stopped eating their meals to watch the two. Most of them were staring in amusement.

"At least I am not some blind man tricked by Shang Tsung! It was your own fault you ended up this way!" Scorpion shouted at Kenshi.

"Well at least I'm not an idiot ninja who was stupid enough to fall for Quan Chi's lies!!" Kenshi replied. Sub-zero heard Scorpion grit his teeth and she could tell that Kenshi had hit a nerve. Scorpion was about to grab his spear when Sub-zero shouted.

"All right you two! Cut it out!"

Scorpion let his hand fall back to his side, a bewildered expression set on his face. All of the others stared at her as well. Not being able to sleep did not put her in a good mood.

"I'm trying to eat." She finished lamely. Scorpion and Kenshi stopped at once and returned to their meals.

Sub-zero poked at her food a little bit more and stood up, threw her left-over in the trash can, and strode out of the room. She ended up at the balcony. The fresh air was calming.

"What's wrong?" she heard someone from behind and it made her jump. "Oh, sorry." She turned around as saw Kenshi. She sighed.

"What do you want, Kenshi?" she asked. _I bet he wants to tell me that it was Scorpion's fault and that he had the right to shout at him or something._

"I want…to apologize." He said. He plopped down on the seat next to Sub-zero.

"Oh, um, you're forgiven?" it sounded more like a question. Kenshi sighed.

"I noticed that you weren't in a good mood today…so I assumed he did something…and you know…" O_h! That's how the fight started! _

"Oh…no, he didn't do anything, Kenshi." She replied. Kenshi waited. "I just had a bad dream." she admitted.

"A bad dream?" he asked skeptically. "Concerning our favorite ninja…?" She sighed.

"I guess you could say it that way…" she said. "In my dream, he found out who I was and tried to kill me. None of you were there to help me. Plus, I saw Liu Kang as a zombie. I wonder if this is a premonition of some sort." She told him.

"Hm." He said in a politely disinterested tone. It was as if he wanted to tell her something.

"Did you really come here just to apologize to me?" she asked in an indignant tone.

"You've become so impatient after you've become a woman." Kenshi rebuked her. He sighed. "But I guess that's part of your charm."

Sub-zero was taken aback by what he said.

"Charm?" she repeated stupidly. He sighed.

"You're right. There is more than one reason I wanted to talk to you." He paused.

"What is it?" Sub-zero asked quietly.

"Gah! This is so frustrating!" Kenshi suddenly said, burying his face in his hands. Sub-zero was again surprised at the sudden shift of his mood. "You'll probably hate me for this." He said. Sub-zero smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Whatever it is, I promise not to get mad at you." She swore with mock solemnity. Kenshi however, did not laugh at her joke and merely sighed. "What is it?" she asked more seriously.

"I don't really know how to say this, Sub-zero. Ever since you became a girl…everything became different…I saw you differently…well I didn't literally see you but you get the point. It was like, you became someone entirely different Sub-zero. I became attracted to you. You became so…beautiful; it was as if you were my ideal girl." He sighed. "In simple terms…I love you…I'm not gay or anything…since you're a girl." He finally finished.

Sub-zero was at a loss for words. Somebody, one of her closest friends to be more exact, had just declared his love for her. She stared at her. Kenshi smiled.

"I love you Sub-zero. Man, does that sound corny or what?" He said. He leaned towards Sub-zero who didn't back away at all. "I truly do." And he closed the gap between their lips. Sub-zero sat there, stunned and didn't kiss back. Kenshi pulled back. Just then, they heard a sharp intake of breath at their left. Sub-zero turned her head. She stifled a gasp.

Scorpion was standing there. Scorpion had heard everything. Scorpion had found out who she really was.

**A/N: Please leave a review! Anonymous reviews are always welcome! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

Sub-zero stared at Scorpion's quivering figure. She hyperventilated. _Someone kill me, someone kill me!_ She thought. Scorpion's eyes were full of hatred and she took a step back involuntarily. _Be careful what you wish for, Sub-zero._ She gathered up all the remaining courage in her heart and spoke.

"S-scorpion?" she stuttered. Kenshi was between them, but she did not feel safe. Kenshi said nothing and the two waited for Scorpion's response.

"Sub-zero." He spat venomously. Sub-zero cringed. He said her name so acerbically. She felt the tears form in her eyes but she forced them to stay where they were. Maybe her dream was prophetic. Maybe she was going to get killed. Scorpion took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. It wasn't very successful. "It's taking-all-my will power-not to kill-you." His sentence came out half-strangled.

"I'm not letting you kill her." Kenshi said protectively. Scorpion did not avert his gaze from Sub-zero.

"Shut up." He answered, and Kenshi pulled his sword out.

"I'm sorry!" Sub-zero blurted out. She was concentrating on the tears. _Don't fall! Don't fall! _She won the fight against her tears and they remained where they were. She tried to swallow, but the lump on her throat was there again.

"You're sorry?" Scorpion laughed coldly and it sent chills down Sub-zero's spine. "You're sorry?" he shouted. "You lied about everything!" he jabbed a finger towards her direction. "Everything you told me was a lie! And all you can tell me is that 'you're sorry'?

"I lower my defenses…I let you in…all of this was just…a fucking lie!" he yelled

"Scorpion, I-," she started.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed at her. "I don't want to hear any more of your lies, 'Zeiva'! I'll leave, now, I might kill you if I don't." he said and her ran out of the balcony and left the two there. Kenshi turned to Sub-zero.

"Are you all right?" he asked her. She shook her head. The tears won and were now rolling down her cheeks. Every word Scorpion said was engraved in her memory. She felt Kenshi, pick her up. She closed her eyes and the next thing she knew, she was on her bed. Kenshi left without a word. She hugged her knees to her chest and Sub-zero, grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, cried herself to sleep.

OoooooooO

Kenshi and the rest of them were eating at the table when Sub-zero arrived. Needless to say, she was back to her old self. Cold, and calculating. And that was how she was supposed to be. She sat down beside Kenshi and started to eat. Kenshi cleared his throat.

"So, what are our plans for today?" he asked Li Mei. She looked thoughtful but she shrugged.

"I don't know." She answered. "How about you Zeiva, what are you doing today?"

Sub-zero looked up from her plate.

"I'll probably return to the Lin Kuei temple today." She sounded cold, even to herself. The others were alarmed and they stared at her.

"My clan needs me."

Li Mei nodded. She was not one to pry, and Sub-zero silently thanked God.

"Where's Scorpion? I haven't seen him since yesterday." Ermac asked Sub-zero. Sub-zero gritted her teeth.

"Do I look like his warden to you?" she asked venomously.

"Er…no." he replied after some time, obviously befuddled by her sudden vehemence.

"Then why are you asking me where he is?" She said viciously. "I'm not his bodyguard. It's not as if I always know where he is." She turned back to her meal and ate silently. Ermac stared at her for a long period of time before he continued to eat.

Sub-zero was the first to finish her meal. She got up from the table, threw her left-over and cleaned her plate. She went upstairs and packed her clothes. As she was doing so, Li Mei entered the room.

"Hey." Sub-zero greeted after sometime. Li Mei sighed as she was finally acknowledged. If Sub-zero wasn't mistaken, she was there four uniforms ago.

"Are you all right?" she asked cautiously.

"That's a pretty stupid question to ask." She said heartlessly. Sub-zero didn't have to look to know that Li Mei got hurt by her words. Sub-zero turned to Li Mei and sighed. "Sorry. I'm not in the best of moods."

Li Mei smiled in understanding. The two opened the door and went downstairs. They stopped at the front door.

"That's all right. Is it something you want to talk about?" she asked.

Sub-zero shook her head, she couldn't speak.

Li Mei only nodded. "Do you need someone to transport you?"

"I'll find my way back some way." And with that, Sub-zero opened the front door and left the house which felt like home…until yesterday.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero ran into Fujin, (he looked like someone had just beaten him up) and he was the one who transported her to Arctika. The guards let her in of course. Old Takumi would never forget the underwear incident. As she entered the temple, she was greeted by the smiling faces of her Lin Kuei warriors. She nodded at them as they bowed. One of the youngest trainees came up to her. She was about nine or ten years old. She smiled and hugged Sub-zero. Sub-zero was surprised at this gesture. The older assassins ran up to them, took the child and apologized to her. As they were leaving, the young girl spoke.

"We've missed you Grandmaster Sub-zero!" she smiled and walked away leaving her behind. And Sub-zero, despite the pain in her heart, was able to smile back at the young girl.

**A/N: First of all…I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, sooorry! I've neglected this fanfic for like, one month? I'm really sorry. 15 days until my entrance exams…gaaaaah! Anyway, I know an assassin would never hug her grandmaster but I found it cute so I wrote it anyway XDD The chapter wasn't very good. I know. Sorry. I'll reeeeaally try to update as SOON as I can :D Yeah sorry, it's pretty short.**


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

Sub-zero stared out the window. It had been what? Three or four months? She sighed. She shouldn't have been thinking about him, but the words he said were engraved in her mind. She shook her head and made her way to the mess hall. As she was, she overheard a conversation a guard and an assassin were having. She hid herself behind the vase.

"Have you seen the Grandmaster these past months? It's as if her soul was sucked out of her." He commented.

"Yeah, I have noticed that. Do you have any idea what happened?" The other one asked him. He shrugged.

"Beats the hell out of me. But he's…well SHE'S different now. Do you think it really is him?"

"Of course I do. No one can beat Grandmaster Sub-zero." The assassin said with utmost respect. Sub-zero allowed a smile to grace her features.

"Hmph. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was just an impostor. I mean, Grandmaster Sub-zero isn't some sissy who would grieve over something. But this person…it's as if somebody's died and she's crying over it…until now!" Sub-zero clenched her teeth. The guard was right. She has never acted this way her entire life. Nevertheless, she wanted to get out there and beat the crap out of him. Just as she was about to do so, the assassin spoke.

"Even the strongest of us fall off the wagon." He replied. Sub-zero started. "Grandmaster has never shown any sign of emotion except anger and sometimes, pride and happiness. But, there's always a first time for everything. For more than ten years, Grandmaster Sub-zero has not yet shed a single tear. He always hid his emotions well. He bottled it up. It's good that he's able to let his emotions out." He said quietly.

Sub-zero stepped out of the shadows and went to the two men. They bowed immediately.

"Grandmaster." They acknowledged in unison. Sub-zero looked at the guard.

"What are you doing here? You are not at your post?" she asked him. The man straightened.

"But-well-sir-break,"

"I do not remember giving such orders. You are to leave your post, when I tell you to do so." She continued on mercilessly. He bowed and strode off, the puzzled expression still plastered on his face. She turned around and faced the assassin.

"You, come with me." She beckoned towards him. He followed obediently as she led him to the training grounds.

"Um, sir?" he finally asked as they reached the clearing.

"Yes?"

"Why are we here at the training grounds?" he asked. Sub-zero turned around and faced him. He looked puzzled. Sub-zero grinned behind her mask.

"Why do you _think_ we're in the training grounds?" she fired back. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Er…" he scratched his head. "You want to spar with me?" She stared at him for a moment.

"I have a question for you, if I were to take you in as my apprentice, what would you say?" She surveyed him, waiting for his reaction. It took a few seconds before it completely registered in his mind.

"W-wow, I…wouldn't know what to say…sir." He added.

"How about, 'Let's begin'?" Sub-zero suggested. He grinned at her. He bowed.

"I would be honored." And the two started sparring.

OoooooooO

"Ugh…" he moaned. Sub-zero pressed harder, and he groaned. Sub-zero shook her head.

"You…are such a wimp." She commented. He was a wimp, but he was a skilled fighter. He just needed a little more practice. All right, scratch that, he needed a _lot_ more practice. She kept on pressing the same spot on his shoulder, massaging him. He winced at the pain.

"It's the first time I was able to fight with the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. I thought I would never, ever be able to spar with you." he said with such solemnity that Sub-zero had to grin.

They were silent for a long time.

"Grandmaster…"

"Hmm?"

"I know this question may be a bit personal but…is there anything bothering you?" He turned around and faced was a long silence, and Sub-zero spoke.

"You should go to your room and get a good night's sleep. Wake up at five, or watch me kick your ass out of bed." She threatened. She didn't answer the question and he let it drop. He laughed and bowed. He exited the room, still chuckling.

Sub-zero stared out the window as soon as he was gone. Scorpion…She longed for his warm hug, his warm smile…but she knew she would never see nor feel them again. Ever.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20**

"Are you ever going to tell me your name?" Sub-zero asked after one of their training sessions. Weeks had passed, and yet she still didn't know what his name was. The boy blinked at her. All right, he couldn't really be classified as a boy. He was young, probably a bit younger than she was.

"I thought you already knew." He said. Sub-zero smiled sheepishly.

"Er…no, I don't." He grinned at her.

"You could always guess."

Sub-zero looked thoughtful for a moment. She couldn't really remember what his name was.

"Hmm." She said. "Riku?" He shook his head.

"Nope."

"Ryoma? Ryoga?" He shook his head again. Sub-zero sighed. "Does your name even _begin_ with an 'R'?" He laughed.

He chuckled. "Your guesses aren't even remotely close. My name is Hanzo." Sub-zero froze. The wall she had been trying to build between her and that memory was shattered. She tried to breathe properly, but her chest seemed to clench and unclench painfully.

"Hanzo." She repeated stiffly. He nodded, oblivious to her reaction. "Tell me more about your life." He tried to stand up, but the recently earned bruises prevented him from doing so. So, he settled for sitting up.

"Well, my name is Hanzo." Sub-zero inhaled sharply, his name was too close to _his_. "I came from Japan. My family was assassinated by a group of ninjas, and I was the only one left. I don't remember how I got here, in Arctika. All I remember is that I collapsed, and," he turned to Sub-zero smiling. "You let me in." he finished.

"I let you in?" she asked in bewilderment. He nodded.

"Well, I never really got to thank you, grandmaster. Your brother always seemed to hide you from me. I think he thought I was one of your creepy stalkers." He laughed at the memory. Sub-zero seemed to be deep in thought. "What is it, Grandmaster?"

"Oh nothing. So, who was it that killed your family in cold blood?"

"The ninjas who killed my family were the Shirai Ryu." Sub-zero stood there, astonished; as she let the words sink in.

"The Shirai Ryu killed your family?" her voice cracked. Impossible. Scorpion was a merciful person back then. He would never kill an entire family. Heck, he even restrained himself from killing her! Hanzo fumed. "Who told you that the Shirai Ryu killed your family?"

"A person." Sub-zero mentally smacked her forehead. If she didn't already know it was a person, she'd be stupid. "When I was looking for a place to stay, I came across this weird person. He was bald and he had tattoos all over his body. He had white skin and green eyes. Oh yeah, he was the one who directed me here…Now I remember." Of course. Quan Chi. Sub-zero laughed humorlessly. She shook her head.

"You should know better than to believe that person. Quan Chi." She spat his name. He was taken aback at the acerbity of her voice.

"But, he seemed to be right about everything!" he protested. He stood up, trying to ignore the pain of his body. "He guessed that they were wearing yellow and that their leader had a spear." Sub-zero frowned and sighed.

"That is one of the advantages of being a sorcerer. Since your memory was a bit murky, he decided to get in your mind and manipulate things. Maybe even a little bit."

"But…why would he do that?"

"Quan Chi wants both of our clans dead. He told that to you, in hopes that you would pass it on to me, and if I were the old Sub-zero, I would have led the attack without a moment's thought." She said. Her meeting with Scorpion had changed her views about the Shirai Ryu Clan. There it was again. She had thought of him. She gritted her teeth.

Hanzo refused to believe what she had told him. He nodded, but doubt was still plastered on his face. She sighed.

"Hanzo, go to the infirmary and the healer will take care of you there."

"Yes, Grandmaster." He was about to leave when Sub-zero remembered something.

"Oh! Yeah, Hanzo, I wanted to ask you…" she paused. "How old are you?" he chuckled.

He was about seven years younger than she was.

"Your age makes me feel really old." Sub-zero commented. Hanzo laughed at her and bid her good bye.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero sat in her study. She was ill at ease. There was something wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she definitely knew something was up. She stood up and paced her room. Then, someone knocked on her door. Well, it was more of pounding. She opened it, and the guard bowed.

"Sir! There is an intruder in the main hall!" he said, obviously panicked. How did an intruder get inside the well-protected base of the Lin Kuei? She scowled. She strode out the door quickly, the guard followed him.

"Secure every entrance and exit. I don't want any more intruders. I will deal with him myself." She said. She hastily ran to the main hall and saw a guy standing in the empty room. It was just him and her. Perfect.

"Finally, an empty room." She heard the intruder say. "Maybe I can-,"

"Rest?" she finished for him. He turned around and faced her. "Think again, intruder. You may have bested my Lin Kuei warriors, but you will _not _get past me!" He sighed.

"And you are?" he asked lamely.

"I am Sub-zero, Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, and you are trespassing! Fight!" she challenged him.

They've fought for what seemed like hours. The intruder was highly-skilled. She was getting tired, that was when she first noticed his tattoo.

"Your tattoo!" she exclaimed. It was the same pattern as the one on the door they had been trying to open for years.

"What about it?" he spat. He did not let his guard down. She relaxed her stance and explained.

"It resembles the image on the door behind you." He turned around. "Who are you? And why are you here?"

"This must be it!" he sounded relieved.

"This must be what?" There was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"This temple was a shrine for my mother…" he paused. "Before you clan commandeered it." He added.

"I assure you, it had been abandoned long before we arrived." She defended. It was true. He seemed to comprehend.

"I realize that." He said in a friendly tone. "My name is Taven; I came here to retrieve something, a gift from my mother."

"Then tell me, where is this 'gift'?" Quote and quote.

"Most likely behind this vault door."

Sub-zero glanced at it.

"The door on the right was unlocked when we first arrived here; there was nothing inside. The door on the left has remained sealed, despite our best efforts to open it." She told him. She remembered they had tried every technique they knew, and still, they couldn't open the door.

"It looks like my brother has already been here to retrieve his gift." He said. "Strange. That means he's been awake for quite some time." He murmured to himself.

"I assume you have a key?" She asked, more that said. He raised his left hand.

"You could say that." And he placed his hand on the hand imprint on the door and voila! It opened. The small space contained an armor. Taven hastily put it on.

"You have your gift, now tell me, for what purpose would a sorceress leave her son such a powerful set of armor?"

"Apparently, I need it for my quest." Sub-zero looked at him expectantly. "Something big is supposed to happen, although I do not know what that something is yet." He frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"A warrior named 'Rain' mentioned something about saving the realms." Rain? Oh. How could she forget? Rain was the purple-clad ninja with the shawl. "And I've also been repeatedly attacked by assassins in red. I do not recognize their crest but it seems vaguely familiar…a dragon I believe! Do you know who they are?"

"I may." Sub-zero said testily. Suddenly, one of the Lin Kuei assassins entered the room and bowed.

"Grandmaster! More intruders! The East Entrance!" she quirked an eyebrow at Taven.

"Friends of yours?" He shrugged.

"They are dark warriors; yet they resemble our own Lin Kuei! Ugh…" The assassin was stabbed from behind. They were, indeed, dark warriors. They wore the same Lin Kuei uniform, except that it was black. She already knew who their leader was…Noob Saibot.

A/N: Anonymous reviews are always welcome! :)


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

Sub-zero took on a defensive stance as three more ninjas appeared and made a circle around her. She quickly sent out an ice blast that froze all four of them. She looked at Taven.

"Time to choose sides!" she said. "Friend or Foe?" She hoped he would say 'Friend'. Taven was a pretty likable person. He sighed.

"I'll help." He said. _Thank the Elder Gods._

"Then defend the stronghold! Smash these new intruders!" She sped out of the room. She ran into a lot of Noob's goons and beat up all of them. She questioned one of them, the person she last defeated.

"Where is he?" she growled. The man laughed manically. She took him by the collar and shook him.

"Where's who?" he answered.

"Noob Saibot." She got no response. "Where is he?" she repeated. He glared at her. She twisted his arm and he screamed in pain. It was no time to be merciful.

"I'll repeat my question." She said, her voice deadly. "Where is Noob?"

"He told me…to relay a message to a certain Sub-zero…" he panted. Sub-zero loosened his grip on the man, but she didn't let go just yet.

"Then why haven't you told me yet? I'm Sub-zero." She stated. His eyes widened. "What is the message?" He looked as if he was hesitant to say, so Sub-zero had to persuade him. He winced.

"He told me…to tell you…that he'd be taking something important to you…if you don't surrender." He said shakily. Sub-zero released him and he fell on the ground.

She checked her chest, and the Dragon Amulet was still there. What the hell did her brother mean by that? She absentmindedly froze the man's feet to the ground. Then, with sudden force it hit her. No…He couldn't possibly know about-

And Sub-zero sprinted, as fast as she could, to the direction of the clinic.

OoooooooO

She kicked the door open. The curtains were swaying in the wind. Hanzo wasn't inside. Maybe he just went to the comfort room. Then again, the healer wasn't there either. The room was large; it was able to accommodate about thirty Lin Kuei warriors. She entered it. As she did, a voice spoke to her.

"You look familiar. Have we met?" the voice was cold. It was not genuinely curious, but more of mocking. She spun around and her brother was standing in front of her, with a very bloody Hanzo beside him. "Ah yes. You were with that Hellspawn back in Outworld." Noob had his arm around Hanzo, and a knife at his throat. _Where'd he get the knife?_ He probably got it from Hanzo.

"G-grandm-master…" He said. Sub-zero gnashed her teeth together. Her brother looked at her. After a few moments, he laughed.

"You're Sub-zero?" He asked. His voice was still mocking, but somehow it sounded more of shocked than anything else. "My dear brother, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"That…does not concern you, brother." She replied coldly. "Why are you taking one of my assassins as hostage?"

"He's not just any assassin." He smirked. "You think I don't know that he's your newest student?" He plunged the knife into Hanzo's shoulder, and he screamed in agony. Sub-zero was about to jump toward him. Her brother raised the dagger menacingly and threatened to sink it into Hanzo's skin if she attacked him.

"Stop that." she growled as Noob carved a line onto Hanzo's face. He ceased what he was doing.

"Surrender?" Sub-zero looked at Hanzo's face. It was a face a man burning on the stake would have.

"N-no…" Hanzo tried to say.

"Never." Sub-zero said scathingly. Her eyes travelled between her student and her brother. Her resolve wavered. "If you promise to stop hurting the boy, I might reconsider." Noob pushed Hanzo towards her, and she caught her. But she was not ready for his next move. He took Sub-zero by the hair and dragged her out of the room. They went in the main chamber and Noob threw her onto the ground.

"Ugh…" she groaned. She knelt down in pain. Noob kicked her in the face and on the stomach countless of times. She fell onto the ground and coughed out blood. They heard a noise from the chamber next door, and Sub-zero stood up. Noob kicked her, and she was feeling woozy.

She saw Taven enter the door and gasp slightly at the sight before him. Noob grabbed her.

"You will join us," he pointed at Taven. "Or you will die!" He threw her aside.

"We shall see!" Taven challenged and that was the last thing Sub-zero heard before she drifted into unconsciousness.

"I…should thank you. You probably saved my life." She said when she had woken up. She stood up and wiped the blood from her mouth.

"Who was he? He didn't seem…human."

"He is Noob Saibot….a warrior from the Netherrealm…He is my brother…" she added unwillingly.

"Your brother?" he said, clearly astonished. "Why is he trying to kill you?"

_I don't know._ "He was corrupted long ago. And now, you have saved me from him. The Lin Kuei owe you much, Taven." Then, she remembered something.

"In exchange for your help, I will give you the information you need. The clan you are seeking is called the Red Dragon Clan. They are a clan of ruthless warriors." She said. "They were founded some years ago." _Yeah and they kept on spying on us._

"Where is their stronghold?"

"Charred Mountain." She remembered that her warriors recently located their stronghold. Taven thanked her and went on his way. Sub-zero went back to the infirmary where Hanzo lay on the bed, asleep. His body had been cleaned, by the Healer, no doubt.

Sub-zero sat down beside his bed and shook her head. Why did she sacrifice herself for this man? She brushed a stray lock from his face. He tossed in his sleep and mumbled a few words in Japanese that Sub-zero didn't understand. She understood one sentence though. She was about to leave, when she heard it.

Sub-zero stopped in her tracks and stared at him. What? What did he say? Impossible! He couldn't…

She hastily went out of the room and ran to her own chamber. She flopped down on the bed and tried to sleep. Somehow, the words were haunting her. She remembered _him._ She missed _him_, very much. Sub-zero covered her face with her pillow. She slept but in her dream, _he_ was the one who said it.

_Zeiva-san…aishiteru desu._

And Sub-zero pulled her blanket up as she shivered.


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

"Grandmaster!" One of the guards called Sub-zero as she strode across the courtyard. She turned around to face him.

"What?" she asked, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice. She had been avoiding Hanzo. A few weeks had passed since her brother's unexpected arrival. Since then, her student, Hanzo had been trying to make advances on her. She usually diverts his attention by saying something random and he would stop. She hadn't seen him the whole of the day, and she wasn't planning to be seen.

"There is some guy at the gate who wants to talk to you." he jerked his thumb toward the main entrance and Sub-zero sighed.

"What does this guy look like?" she rubbed her forehead. She didn't really need any visitors that day.

"Well, um…sir," Sub-zero could see he was struggling for the right way to address her. "He was dressed in black and he wore some sort of blindfold-thing on his head."

Sub-zero raised her eyebrows. What did Kenshi want this time? Sub-zero shook her head and sighed before she ambled towards the main entrance. As reached the gate, she ordered the guards to let Kenshi in. As Kenshi walked in, looked directly at Sub-zero, even though she was sure he couldn't see anything.

"Hey, long time no see." He grinned, and Sub-zero couldn't help smiling back.

OoooooooO

The two sat down on the sofa of Sub-zero's study opposite to each other. Kenshi was still grinning, and Sub-zero found that his smile was actually contagious.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked lightly.

"Oh, nothing much." He answered vaguely. He poured himself a cup of tea, which had been served to them. Sub-zero didn't say anything. She already knew why he was there.

"So…" she didn't know what to say.

"Sub-zero," Kenshi placed his cup back down on the table. "You don't know what these past few months had done to us. We didn't know if you were all right, or if you had killed yourself in some gory demeanor. We had no idea if you managed to get back here safely. You didn't even try to keep in touch with us." He pouted.

Sub-zero remained silent. She didn't know what to say. She fought back the tears which had formed in her eyes.

"You really had me worried, you know that?" He said softly. Sub-zero looked up at him and saw him smile sadly.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled. Kenshi stood up and hugged her. Tears, which she had been suppressing for months and months now, came pouring out of her. She hugged back and she buried her face in his chest. Kenshi hugged her tighter.

"Shh," he consoled her, "it's all right. I'm here of you. Shh. It's all right."

"I-I-I'm sorry, K-Kenshi." She stuttered. She pulled away from him and wiped her tears. Kenshi smiled.

"Let it all out. I'll be here. I'm your friend, remember?" She laughed lightly and pulled Kenshi into another hug. Just then, the door burst open and a frantic Hanzo entered the room.

"Grandmaster I-," he stopped speaking when he saw the state they were in. He widened his eyes. "U-um, sorry to disturb you." He sounded bitter, or at least, that's how he sounded to Sub-zero. He left the room hastily and banged the door. Sub-zero pulled away from Kenshi and smacked her forehead.

"Who's he?" Kenshi asked. Sub-zero sighed.

"He's my student." She flopped back down on the chair and shook her head.

"You replaced Frost?" he sounded so bewildered that Sub-zero almost laughed.

"Why? You thought I wouldn't?" He merely shrugged.

"You know…I've been thinking. About what happened at the base, I mean." Kenshi said. Sub-zero bit her lip. "I remember how, umm, devastated you were when _he _discovered the truth. And…I've come to a conclusion and devised a plan of action." He paused.

"So…what's your 'conclusion'?"

Kenshi breathed in. "You're. In. Love. With. Scorpion." He made it sound like five different sentences.

"What?" It failed to register into Sub-zero's brain.

"I said, 'You're in love with Scorpion.'" He repeated. Sub-zero opened her mouth to protest, but found that she couldn't. It was the whole truth. She _did_ love Scorpion. It was utterly wrong. They were both men. At least, one of them used to be. "Hah! I knew it!" Kenshi shook his head.

"What's your plan of action?"

"Oh yeah. Well, I would…forego my feelings for you." He smiled. "I don't want my feelings to get in the way of our friendship. Clearly, I could never _fully_ let go of my feelings, but, at least I would try."

Sub-zero blinked, then smiled. Kenshi was such a lovable person, yet she fell in love with someone else. If only she had fallen in love with Kenshi, wouldn't life be easier for her? And yet, she couldn't bring herself to love him the way she loved Scorpion.

"Thank you, Kenshi." Kenshi grinned at her.

"No prob. Now, what do we do with your young apprentice? I mean, he's obviously in love with you." He jerked his thumb towards the door.

"I don't know. I feel like a pedophile." She shook her head.

"Oh well. You don't love him in _that_ way." She nodded.

"Ah. Let's discuss our plan of action over dinner." Sub-zero exited the room with Kenshi following behind her.


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23**

They ate in a private room where no one would be able to bother them. Sub-zero sat opposite to Kenshi and chewed on her food while he came up with different plans.

"That is the fifteenth plan you've come up with." she said, after he was finished. By the way Kenshi's mouth formed into an 'O', he hadn't realized it. It almost made Sub-zero choke on her food.

"Really?" he was thoughtful now. Sub-zero grinned at him.

"You don't believe me?" she asked. "I'm hurt." she added, mockingly sarcastic. Kenshi laughed at her.

"Fine then, so what's _your_ suggestion?" he challenged.

"Wait. We're devising a plan of action, for…what again?" Sub-zero seemed to have forgotten what the reason was. If Kenshi could roll his eyes, he probably would have done so.

"We're thinking of a way to tell your loving-," Sub-zero rolled her eyes, "-student that it would be inappropriate to have a relationship with him because of the difference in your ages." He said.

"I remember now." Sub-zero made a face. "Do I _have_ to tell him?" Kenshi shrugged.

"Well, if you want him off your back, then I suggest you tell him."

Sub-zero sighed. It wouldn't be easy to tell the boy; well he wasn't that much of a boy anymore.

"Hmm. Maybe you can just tell him straightforward." Kenshi said.

"Excuse me?"

"You could say, 'You know, uh…'"

"His name's Hanzo."

"Right. Okay." He paused for a moment. "'You know, Hanzo, you're nice and all but, you're really too young for me.' Or something of the sort." He shrugged.

"I can't just tell that to him…I might hurt his feelings." She pouted.

"Probably. But however you may say it, you'd still end up hurting him." He cupped his chin with his hands and propped his elbows on the table.

Sub-zero grimaced. She didn't want to hurt him. He was her student after all.

"Can't you think of a less hurtful way to say it?"

There was a moment of silence before Kenshi spoke.

"Hmm." He said. "You could always make him jealous." Sub-zero stared at him, not comprehending his words.

"What?" she asked.

"You could make him jealous." He repeated.

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?" Kenshi grinned at her wickedly. Sub-zero raised one eyebrow at him.

Kenshi continued to smirk. Sub-zero tilted her head in confusion. Kenshi rose from his seat and made his way towards Sub-zero, smiling seductively. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the ground with Kenshi on top of her.

"What the-, Kenshi?!" She shouted at him, blushing furiously. Kenshi smirked at her. He lowered his face to hers until their faces were about an inch away from each other. "You said-," she was cut off by the sound of the door being thrown open. Voila. It was Hanzo. He stared at the odd position the two were in, and, once his brain had assessed it, he muttered something Sub-zero could hear and shut the door quickly.

As soon as the door closed, Kenshi got off of Sub-zero and sat beside her. Sub-zero sat up, and then she understood.

"Was that what you meant by 'making him jealous'?" She asked him. "Why didn't you tell me? At least I would've been prepared before you pinned me to the ground!"

Kenshi laughed at her, ruffling her hair.

"Sub, I love you, you know that…" he paused for a while. "But you're a terrible actor…well, actress. Hanzo might have spotted my little plan there and then." Kenshi grinned at her.

Sub-zero punched his arm lightly.

"Do you think it worked?"

"I'm not sure." he scratched the back of his head before setting his hand onto Sub-zero's head. "I think it made him more persistent."

"Damn."

"Oh well, at least I tried." He chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to ask. Can I stay for the night?"

Sub-zero laughed.

"Of course. You can use your usual room." She said, standing up. "I already asked somebody to clean it for you." She grinned. "You do know the way to your room, right?" she frowned.

"Of course I do." He laughed. "Even though I'm blind, I know my way, you know?" Sub-zero chuckled. "Ah well. We'll think of a better plan tomorrow. Plus, there's something that we need to talk about. Oh, and Johnny might come over here, too."

"Sure. Good night." They exited the room. She waved at him. The two went separate ways, Kenshi, taking the left route and Sub-zero taking the right one. She went in her room and took a quick bath, before putting her clothes on.

She flopped on her bed and squinted at the ceiling. Did what Kenshi want to say have any relation with Taven's rambling about saving the realms? It looked like she would find out…tomorrow.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero woke with a start. Something wasn't right. She jumped out of bed, and changed into her usual outfit; the black top with two cloths on it which formed a 'V' on her chest, the blue sash, black pants and her gloves. She strode out her room. She opened the door adjacent to hers and found that no one was inside.

"Damn. Where the hell is Hanzo?" she muttered. She closed the door and forced herself to walk, not run, to Kenshi's room. There, she found the two locked in an intense battle.

Kenshi, though injured, (it looked like a burn to Sub-zero) was putting up a good fight. Hanzo was using fire techniques. Sub-zero threw an iceball at both of them. Kenshi was able to dodge it, but the less experienced fighter got hit and remained solid for a few seconds.

"What in the world is happening here?" she tried to keep her voice in an undertone. "Hanzo." The said person, only partially defrosted, looked at her. "Back to your room."

"Grandmaster-," he started to say.

"NOW." She had said this so venomously that he immediately ran out. She turned to Kenshi. "Will you care to explain to me what the hell happened?"

Kenshi raised an eyebrow at her.

"Isn't it obvious? You're beloved student attacked me in the middle of the night." He shook his head. "Living proof that jealousy is one of the worst emotions the Elder Gods gave us."

"Sorry, Kenshi. I'll talk to him." She grimaced. "You catch some sleep." He nodded and fell to the bed, asleep at once. She shook her head and braced herself. It would not be pleasant.

She walked out of Kenshi's room and ambled towards Hanzo's.


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24**

Sub-zero took a deep breath before opening the doors. Hanzo was on his bed, running a hand up and down his sword. He had not let it go yet. _Paranoid_, Sub-zero thought. She had no intention of killing the boy. She sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. Hanzo jumped and looked at her, as if he had only noticed her arrival.

"Hanzo…" she started to say.

"I know, Grandmaster, and I'm sorry." He looked away as he dropped his sword on the bed. "I was just…"

"You were just…?" she asked coldly, but she tried softening her tone a little bit.

"I was so…angry…frustrated. I didn't know how to suppress it. Instead of destroying the room, I just took it out on the blind guy."

"His name is Kenshi." She told him. "I would rather have you destroy this room than have you try to kill one of my closest friends."

Hanzo kept quiet. He obviously had no idea what to say. Sub-zero continued.

"Kenshi has been with me through thick and thin. He's saved my life numerous times as I have saved his a few times."

"Close friend. Psssh." He mocked. "Why would a close friend be pinning you to the ground? If he were only a close friend, why did you dine with him in a private room instead of having him dine with us?"

"That," Sub-zero stood up. "is none of your business." She said scathingly.

"Oh, isn't it?" he challenged. Just then, Sub-zero's fist collided with his cheek. Hanzo stared at her, surprised.

"It isn't any of your business. But in the same way, why would an apprentice try to make advances on his master when he knows very well how large their age difference is? Why would the said apprentice try to _kill_ his master's close friend?" She spat at him. Hanzo, still shocked, stared up at her.

"Grandmaster, I love you." He said quietly.

"It would be impossible, Hanzo." She shook her head. Hanzo stood up.

"Why would it be impossible, Grandmaster? Wasn't there anything going on between you and Frost?" he speculated.

"No!" Sub-zero looked at him in disgust. She wasn't aware that there was a rumor spreading around the stronghold about them being in a romantic relationship. "There was nothing between me and Frost. I was her master and she was my apprentice. She was like a daughter to me. Well, now, she's merely a traitor." She sighed. "Hanzo, you know too well that I am too old for you."

"It doesn't matter to me!"

"I was once a guy, and I don't plan on staying as a woman forever." She eyed Hanzo's expression. He looked shocked for a moment, but he gained his composure.

"I love you!" he shouted to her.

"And I don't!" she stood up, shouting at him with equal force. He looked absolutely horrified. "I don't love you, Hanzo. At least, not in that way." She added quietly.

"So, whom do you love? That blind gu-Kenshi?" He corrected himself immediately as he saw Sub-zero's withering glare.

"No. I don't love Kenshi that way either. I wish I could though. He's given me everything and I still rejected him." She sighed as she sat back down.

"So, who is it?" he swallowed.

Sub-zero looked out the window.

"It's all right if you don't want to tell m-,"

"Someone…a person whom I know can never love me. We had shared, at least for a few months, happy moments, until I destroyed it all with my stupidity." She cupped her chin with her hands.

"It's that person. He's the reason why you've been sulking for the past few weeks."

The sadness in Sub-zero's eyes must have tipped him off. She nodded slowly.

"I guess," Hanzo sat down. "there's nothing I can do but accept that you will never love me."

_Dramatic young boy_, Sub-zero thought, but she was glad he had finally given up.

"But, the moment that your heart ceases to love this person, I swear, I will stop at nothing until I claim it." He looked at her and grinned.

"When that moment comes, I'll probably be dead. You should go find someone else who deserves you, Hanzo." Sub-zero stood up with her back to him. "And make sure she's younger than you are." She strode away. "Goodnight, Hanzo."

Sub-zero closed the doors behind her and made her way to her room. She entered the room and flopped down on the bed. And she fell asleep in an instant.

"Sub-zero, Sub-zero, Sub-zero!" Sub-zero jerked from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the blurry figure.

"Kenshi?" she squinted and sat up.

"No, it's Johnny." The voice said. "Kenshi's over there." He pointed to a figure entering her room.

"Johnny? How the netherrealm did you get in?" Sub-zero yawned. She wasn't exactly a morning person.

"Kenshi let me in." Johnny stood up.

Sub-zero hadn't noticed that he was seated at the edge of her bed.

"You should get dressed. We need to talk." Johnny made his way to the door and stopped abruptly. "Do you mind if I stay while you are dressing?"

The statement earned him a punch in the head from Kenshi.

"Pervert." Kenshi dragged him out the door.

Sub-zero laughed at the two of them. She stumbled out of bed and ambled into the bathroom. She took a bath as quickly as she could and dressed in her usual attire. She was putting her boots on when Kenshi came in.

"Come on, let's go." Kenshi told her. He seemed tired. Probably because of what happened the night before.

"You act as if you own the place." Sub-zero rolled her eyes but stood up. The two walked to the mess hall. When they arrived there, Johnny was sweet-talking a young assassin who seemed to be flustered by his words. Sub-zero and Kenshi shook their heads and made their way to the table. When Sub-zero sat down, that was the only time that the assassin had noticed her.

"G-grandmaster Sub-zero!" she stood up quickly and bowed to her. Sub-zero nodded her head at the assassin.

"You are not at your post?" she asked.

"Um," the young girl scratched her head. "I was, attending to your guest, Grandmaster." Sub-zero raised her eyebrow.

"It seems to me that he is more than capable of being alone for a few minutes." Sub-zero said coldly. "Back to your post then." The young assassin bowed to her and ran off. Sub-zero let out an exasperated sigh and scratched her head.

"Johnny…" she started to say.

"I know, I know. But I can't help it. It's just part of who I am." He flashed his pearly-white teeth at her and she rolled her eyes.

"So, is there any reason, aside from seducing my assassins, for your arrival today?" She helped herself to a piece of bread on the table and spread some butter on it before taking bite.

"Yes there is." His expression suddenly turned serious.

"Whr-issht?"

Johnny gave her a puzzled look.

"I think she means 'What is it?'" Kenshi explained. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to suppress his laughter. Sub-zero swallowed her food and glowered at him.

"What is it?" she repeated.

"We've got a problem, a big one." Johnny frowned. Sub-zero found herself mimicking his expression. "I was in…Outworld, I think, when I saw Shinnok."

"Shinnok? You picked a fight with a fallen Elder God?" Sub-zero asked in disbelief.

"Would you let me finish?"

"Right. Sorry."

"As I was saying, I saw Shinnok. He was talking to Quan Chi via a portal. He said something about gathering his forces to take control of Shao Kahn's Fortress, you know, the one in Outworld?"

Sub-zero nodded in assent but frowned.

"So, what're they planning to do?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure." Johnny took his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes. "But we will be prepared. I wanted to talk to you because I needed your help."

"Go on." Sub-zero shifted in her seat.

"Well, after the portal disappeared, Shinnok talked to himself. He said something about 'fire elementals', 'Blaze' and a 'prize'. So, I confronted him and," He grinned at them. "I beat the crap out of him."

Sub-zero looked at him skeptically. Surely he edited his story, maybe even a little bit. Johnny, Johnny Cage, was able to beat Shinnok? Hilarious.

"I'm serious. Then, I asked him what all that 'Blaze' thing was about. He told me that the person who defeats this 'Blaze' thing will be granted something. Before I could ask him more questions, he threw that purple projectile thing at me and escaped."

"I see." Sub-zero sipped her tea. Johnny's story was a bit confusing, (there were just too many 'things' in it) but she didn't want him to repeat it all over again. "So, what do you need my help for, then? It doesn't have anything to do with…" she stopped when she saw Johnny and Kenshi shaking their heads.

"It has everything to do with us." Kenshi spoke for the first time. Sub-zero turned her attention to him and raised one eyebrow. "We, Johnny and I, have been speculating. We think that the person who defeats Blaze will receive some sort of prize. I think that the he, or she, will be given the choice…of what he wants to receive, I mean."

"And so?"

"So, if any of the people from the dark side ever defeat Blaze, then they will get the prize. And if they get the prize…well, nobody knows for sure, what they would be wishing for." Kenshi sighed. "But I can assure you, it is something we do not want to see."

A moment of silence passed before Sub-zero was able to speak.

"Very well, then. You can count me in." She sighed. "So, will everyone from the group in back at the base will be joining us."

Kenshi nodded.

"_Everyone_?" She hoped that Kenshi had understood.

Kenshi cringed and nodded once more.

"We need all the allies we can get." He said.

_That made my morning_. She had lost her appetite, she even felt like throwing up the piece of bread she had eaten.

"All right, when do we leave?" she stood up.

"Later in the afternoon, or tomorrow morning. We'll be meeting somewhere in Earthrealm." Johnny answered her question. "Umm, we were wondering if you'd like to bring your student along."

Sub-zero froze at his question.

"Well, I can understand if you, well, don't want to, I mean we would understand." Kenshi spoke up quickly, when Sub-zero didn't answer at once.

She took a deep breath. She had to always remind herself that Hanzo was not Frost and that all of his students should be given equal chances.

"I'll give him the option." They nodded at her.

"That means he'll come." Kenshi said. "He'll want to go wherever, Sub-zero goes." He added in a whisper.

Sub-zero glared at him. Kenshi merely shrugged.

"I'm only telling the truth."

The next day, they arrived at the base in Earthrealm.

"Interesting…" Hanzo looked around. Kenshi was right. When Sub-zero asked Hanzo if he wanted to come, he almost immediately answered 'yes'.

"Everybody." Sub-zero called for everybody's attention. Everybody from the previous excursion was there, except for Liu Kang, and Raiden. Scorpion left when Sub-zero had arrived. "This is my student, Hanzo."

"Hey Hanzo." They chorused.

"Wow. I never knew you had so many friends, Grandmaster."

"Grandmaster? Hey, where's Sub-zero? Have you replaced him as Grandmaster, Zeiva?" Jax asked. All eyes were on her.

"Zeiva?" Hanzo looked at her, completely befuddled. Sub-zero smacked her forehead. She had forgotten that she hadn't told anyone.

"You guys have to be idiots not to notice." The puzzled look was still plastered on her face. She sighed. "I'm Sub-zero." Most of the people's eyes widened, some of the others nodded as if they weren't surprised. She saw Sareena and Ermac pale.

"You lied to us?" Kitana accused.

"Hey, you didn't really think I'd announce to the whole world that I turned into a woman!" she said defensively. They frowned at first then shrugged.

"Well, if everyone has stopped bothering Sub-zero about her unfortunate mishap, let's start eating!" Sonya said. Immediately, everyone was distracted and got food. Sub-zero gave Sonya a look of gratefulness. Sonya smiled back.

All were eating dinner when they had started the question and answer.

"So, Hanzo," Kung Lao started. "You're Sub-zero's student, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Call me Kung Lao." He laughed at the boy's way of addressing him. "Well, I have a question for you…"

"Fire away." He answered.

"Do you fancy Sub-zero?"

Sub-zero, who was drinking water at that time, accidentally sprayed Jade with it.

"Wh-what?" Hanzo stuttered.

"You see, we asked Frost the same thing. She didn't answer, but instead turned really red and glowered at us." He laughed at the memory. "So, do you?"

Sub – zero turned to send Kung Lao a death glare, but he only looked at Hanzo. Somehow, almost everyone sitting at the table stopped what they were doing and leaned in to hear his answer.

"I-uh…Well, I-I-I…yes." He answered in a small voice. Sub-zero sighed in annoyance. She could hear the catcalls and wolf whistles of her fellow comrades. Kung Lao laughed.

"You should take your mask off; you look like you're going to melt it with that blush of yours." Ashrah commented. She took it off his face and placed it on his lap. It took a minute for everyone who was eating to take in his features.

"You know, you kinda look like Scorpion, but paler and with a different eye color." Jax suddenly commented. Sub-zero sprayed Jade with water she was drinking a second time. The Edenian warrior gave her a withering look before grabbing some napkins and wiping herself…again.

"No he doesn't." Sub-zero said.

"Yes he does." Nightwolf stated.

"I…I'm going out for some fresh air." Sub-zero stood up and left the scene. As she walked outside, she bumped into someone and she fell to the ground. She stood up quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry I wasn't…looking…" She trailed off when she saw who it was.

It was Scorpion.

"Scorpion." She said stiffly. She tried to sound cold.

"Zeiva." He said mockingly. Sub-zero inwardly cringed at his response but made no outward reaction.

"You're blocking my way." He said coolly.

Sub-zero stared at him as coldly as she could but she stepped out of the way. Instead of entering the house, he turned his back to her and ran off. She had no idea where he was going but she let him be.

Sub-zero sat down on a large rock by the river. _So we're reduced to this…Cold comments, giving each other the cold shoulder most of the time. Ugh. It's so…depressing. _Sub-zero's tears rolled down her eyes.

Yes, only in the dark will she ever cry again. She and Scorpion had gone back not even to square one. _More like square negative 2. _It was as if their experiences together had never taken place.

_I am an idiot…_

**A/N : I AM SO SORRY! I haven't updated this fanfic for like…ever! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :) Thanks to those who will be reviewing! :) Love you guys! Happy New Year!!! Yes, I made this chapter longer than my usual. :D PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.**


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

Sub-zero stared out the window of her room. She had only been at the base for a day and she already felt like leaving. She had not wanted to leave her clan in the first place. Johnny and Kenshi were just convincing. She allowed herself to smile a little as she saw Sareena with Hanzo. The boy had gotten close to her in merely a day. They seemed to be having a good time, watching the stars and looking for constellations.

"I hope they end up together." She said to herself. When she was a guy, Sub-zero remembered that he was attracted to Sareena and Kitana.

She shook her head. It didn't matter to her if she would be single all her life, as long as she becomes a 'he' again. She also thought that once she turns back to a man, her feelings for Scorpion would disappear, like when her feelings for Kitana and Sareena disappeared when she transformed into a woman.

She stood up and quietly made her way across the room and opened the door. Li Mei was still asleep. She was, once again, her roommate.

Sub-zero made her way down the stairs and out the front door. She needed some fresh air. As she stepped out of the house, a cool breeze blew past her. It was nighttime, bringing her thoughts back to Li Mei. Why in the world was she asleep so early? It was only half-past seven.

Sub-zero strolled to the place where she stayed the previous night. It was dark, but she was still able to see. She surveyed her surroundings and her eyes spotted a person standing alone a few meters away.

It was, yet again, Scorpion.

She stared at him, bathed in moonlight. He had his mask off, just like old times. She grimaced.

He did look like Hanzo, a little. She was still in denial.

Just when she was about to leave, another figure approached Scorpion. She concealed herself behind a tree. It wasn't usual for her to eavesdrop, but she wanted to know what the person was going to say to him, especially when she recognized the figure to be Kenshi.

"What do you want?" Scorpion hissed at the blind swordsman. He looked like he wanted to be left alone.

"I wanted to talk to you." Kenshi replied.

"I do not have time to talk to loathsome creatures such as yourself." He said dismissively.

"Look, I don't want to talk to you either."

"Then why do so?" Scorpion turned around and glared at Kenshi.

_I thought he just said he wanted to do so?_ Sub-zero thought to herself.

"I wanted to talk to you…about Sub-zero."

As Kenshi said this, Sub-zero felt as if she was going to faint. This could not be happening to her. Was Kenshi going to start a fight for her sake? She didn't want him to do that. She never wanted him to do that for her.

"What about, Sub-zero?" he said her name in such a contemptuous manner that Sub-zero flinched slightly, causing Kenshi to look towards her direction. He shrugged then looked at him again.

"You can't pretend that she doesn't exist."

"Oh?" he challenged. "Watch me." He was about to leave when Kenshi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I will not watch you hurt her."

"Why would pretending she didn't exist, affect her in any way?" he raised an eyebrow at him.

"You aren't an idiot, are you?"

"I am not." Scorpion glared at him.

"She hates the 'silent treatment' more than anything else. Even if she appears to be all right with it, she never is."

"So what? We've always ignored each other. Always. We despised each other."

"'Despised', right? Past tense…it means you don't despise each other anymore." He pointed out. "Don't tell me all your experiences with her back in the Outworld base meant nothing to you."

"They didn't mean anything to me." He said coldly.

Sub-zero felt her heart break into a little million pieces. She couldn't breathe.

"Right. You can say whatever you want, but I know…" Kenshi shook his head.

"You know what?" Scorpion spat.

"You love her." He stated simply, and shrugged.

It took Scorpion a few seconds to comprehend what Kenshi said, at least that's what it looked like to Sub-zero. She couldn't believe she was hearing this from Kenshi.

"I-I do not love her!" he said angrily. Even in the dark, it was easy to see Scorpion's blush.

"You do. You love her. You have been considerate of her feelings until you found out that she was Sub-zero. You cared for her when she was sick; you wanted to be by her side, _always._"

"She lied to me." Scorpion frowned. "She lied about everything. And everything I told her was the truth. I had trusted her."

"Scorpion, if you turned into a woman, would you broadcast it to the whole world? I don't think you would. I mean, I wouldn't."

"But she could at least have told me instead of finding out because I accidentally eavesdropped on your conversation."

"So you're mad not because she is Sub-zero but because she did not confide in you?" Kenshi raised one eyebrow at him.

"I'm angry because of both." He looked away. It looked as if he didn't want to say more.

"You love her." Kenshi repeated.

"I _don't. _I…_can't_."

"Why not?"

"Because she's a Lin Kuei…The Grandmaster to be more precise." Scorpion reasoned.

"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard. You can't just…well…not love her just because of that." Kenshi cocked his head to the side.

"We're sworn enemies. I hate her and she hates me."

"I thought we've gone through this. You don't despise each other anymore, right?"

"She lied about everything."

"Everybody makes mistakes, that doesn't mean she can't be forgiven just because of that." Kenshi folded his arms.

"She was once a man…"

"She isn't one any more right? She didn't want to become a woman anyway. It wouldn't make you gay…if that's what you're afraid of."

All of Scorpion's excuses were thwarted by Kenshi.

"See, you don't have any excuse." Kenshi said smugly.

"I will think of one." Scorpion looked deep in thought.

"Why not just accept it?"

"As if I could!" And with that, he sprinted away. Kenshi shook his head and looked towards Sub-zero's direction.

"Who's there? Have you been eavesdropping on our whole conversation?" Kenshi almost drew his sword until Sub-zero walked towards him.

"Sub-zero? How long have you been there?" his mouth formed the letter 'O' yet again.

"Since 'I want to talk to you'?" Sub-zero offered a small smile. Then, to Kenshi's surprise, she hugged him. He could feel the warm droplets on his chest and hugged her even closer. She pulled back and wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry. Here I am again, being sentimental." She wiped her tears away. "I was never like this when I was a guy."

"Don't worry about. It's a part of your being a woman now." He laughed slightly.

"Thanks. You really didn't have to do that for me." She smiled at him.

"But I wanted to." He grinned. "Come on, let's go back to the house."

OoooooooO

When the two of them returned all of them were surrounding Shujinko who had fainted. As soon as he woke up, a barrage of questions was sent his way. He raised his hand to stop them from speaking.

"I have foreseen something." He started ominously. "Tomorrow…the battle will begin." Everybody was silent.

"The battle…between the forces of good and evil?" Hanzo questioned.

"That sounds too cliché…" Jax commented.

"What about Raiden?" Cyrax asked.

"What about him?" Kitana answered him with another question.

"Which side will he be on?"

"Well…I suppose he'll be on the side of whoever wants to save Earthrealm." Sub-zero answered.

All nodded at her response.

"We had better get ready." Sareena said seriously.

"Indeed." Jade looked at Kung Lao and he gave her a small smile. She smiled back too. However, she looked very troubled, at least that's how it looked like to Sub-zero.

"Everybody, eat heartily, for tomorrow, we dine in hell!" Johnny announced.

"You got that from 300!" Sonya jabbed him in the ribs.

"I know, it just sounded cool!"

Sub-zero and Kenshi laughed at him. It was just like Johnny to try and lighten up everybody's mood.

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Yeah! I updated! :P Sorry it's a bit short though. Haha. I'm in a good mood today, I already passed in one of the colleges I applied to! YEY! I am so happy. There's something wrong with ffnet though, I wanted to see how many hits the latest chapter had and it still said "0". I don't know why. :P Anyway, please leave a review! :) Thanks to all who will be reviewing! THANKS FOR 100 REVIEWS! :) The 101st and 102nd person who reviews can ask me to make a oneshot of any pairing she/he wants! :) [Except FrostSub-zero and any Yaoi couple. Sorry. :P]**


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

Even with Johnny's jokes, most of them weren't cheered up even a bit. Jade was biting her lips and playing around with her food when Kung Lao asked her what was wrong with her.

"N-nothing. I'm fine." She answered him.

Sub-zero could see Jade's eyes starting to fill with tears, but she managed not to let them fall. _An admirable feat._ Sub-zero thought. It was very difficult to stop them. She remembered the time Scorpion had found out who she was. That memory was enough to make her sight blurred by tears.

Her thoughts were interrupted by somebody rising from her chair.

"Excuse me." Jade stood up and all but ran outside the house. Kung Lao hastily stood up, apologized to all of them and ran after her.

Sub-zero understood how Jade felt. She was so afraid, scared for everyone in the house. Who was going to make it out alive? Jade didn't want to lose Kung Lao. In addition, she believed that Jade did not want Kung Lao to know that she was afraid.

Sub-zero stood up and left her food untouched. She had lost her appetite.

"Don't tell me you aren't eating either?" Kenshi frowned at her. "You have to at least eat something. You don't want to faint during tomorrow's battle."

Sub-zero merely smiled at Kenshi, not that he could see it, and started to walk up the stairs. She entered her room and lay down on her bed. She had to get all the sleep she could.

OoooooooO

When Sub-zero woke up, she saw Li Mei packing her things. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. It was 1:53 A.M.

"Oh, you're awake." Li Mei finally noticed her. "You'd better start packing. Sonya suggested to camp near the area where the battle's going to take place."

Sub-zero nodded and just as she was about to start, Li Mei burst into tears.

"Li Mei! What's wrong?" Sub-zero sat beside the purple-clad woman. She patted her back lightly.

Li Mei wiped her tears and sniffed.

"It's just that…we never know what'll happen tomorrow. Who's going to survive the battle? Who's going to die? It just…" She trailed off and started sobbing yet again.

"Are you afraid of dying?" Sub-zero asked her quietly.

She shook her head.

"No, I'm not." She said.

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that _he_ might not make it out alive."

Sub-zero did not miss the emphasis on 'he'. She blinked at her and smiled sympathetically. So Li Mei was fond of someone. And she was scared that that someone might not make it out alive.

"So," Sub-zero said after a few moments of silence. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Wha-Lucky Guy? I-I don't know what you're talking about." Li Mei seemed flustered. The serious mood of the conversation had suddenly dissipated.

"I didn't miss the 'he' part." She grinned. "You're a horrible liar. Who is it?"

"I already told you. There is no lucky guy."

"Pffft. Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say." Sub-zero rolled her eyes. "I promise, I won't tell anyone."

"Promise?"

Sub-zero raised her right hand.

"It's…it's…I can't do it!" She was blushing furiously. "Guess."

Sub-zero blinked at her.

"Guess? But there are so many guys out there." She whined. "At least give me a hint."

"All right. Let's see…" Li Mei seemed to be deep in thought. "Aha! He's funny."

"You like Johnny?" she asked incredulously.

"No!" she protested. "He is good-looking, though." She admitted.

"Good." Sub-zero sighed in relief. "For a moment there, I thought you were lusting after Sonya's boyfriend." She laughed. "Hmm." Sub-zero made a face. "Jax?"

"Engk. Double 'No'. Wrong again."

"Oh come on! He must have other more distinctive traits than 'funny'." Sub-zero crossed her arms.

"Wait, let me think." She rubbed her chin. "Well, he uses a sword as a weapon."

Sword for a weapon? A lot of them use swords. Sub-zero squinted as she tried to figure out who the guy was. It couldn't be Scorpion; she was the only one stupid enough to fall for him. Plus, he was never funny. Well, he only cracked jokes in front of her. _A funny guy…who uses a sword… _Then, it hit her.

Sub-zero looked at Li Mei in shock; her mouth wide open.

"What?" Li Mei asked her.

"No way. No way. No way."

"Tell me! What's your guess?"

"It's…it's…Kenshi, isn't it?" Sub-zero asked her.

Li Mei's already pink cheeks turned red. She nodded.

"That came as a shock." Sub-zero whistled. "I never imagined you…falling in love with Kenshi."

"I know. It really isn't like me to fall in love. It's too…I don't know…dramatic." She laughed.

"I agree. I've never really fallen in love." Sub-zero sighed.

"Until now." She heard Li Mei mutter. She chose to ignore that jibe.

"Oh well." Li Mei said. She made her way to her closet, grabbed her clothes and dumped them into her bag. Sub-zero hastily did the same. They were silent for a few minutes as they packed their clothes for their journey.

"I know…" Li Mei trailed off.

"You know what?" Sub-zero asked as she finished packing her clothes and zipping her bag.

"That Kenshi loves you." She said softly.

Sub-zero glanced at her friend. She had a sad look on her face. She sighed and sat down beside her.

"Look, Kenshi might have loved me, but he said that he'd forego his feelings for me. I turned him down you see." She added when Li Mei looked at her incredulously.

"You turned Kenshi down? If I were you…"

"Look." Sub-zero said defensively. "Kenshi is one of my closest friends, but that doesn't mean that I can love him in the same way he loves me." Sub-zero sighed. "If only I could…then may be it'd be easier for everyone."

Li Mei smiled sympathetically.

"You know what?" she said. "I think I like you better as a girl."

"W-What?" Sub-zero started. She certainly didn't expect that.

"I mean, you were really hot when you were a guy…and I really liked you back then, but..." Li Mei looked unsure whether she would continue or not.

"But…?" It was awkward, to hear Li Mei telling her that she was hot when she was a guy. She was confessing to her for the Elder Gods' sake!

"You seem so free now." She smiled at her.

"Free? Free of what?"

"Bitterness." Li Mei said. "It seems as if…I don't know…you are able to express what you feel now. When you were a guy, you'd hide any trace of emotion except for maybe pride and sometimes happiness or anger." She grinned. "You seemed to be a lot happier when you became a woman."

Sub-zero was rendered speechless. How was she supposed to respond to that? Somebody had just told her that she was better off as a girl than as a guy. It was somewhat disheartening. She looked down and stared at her boots.

However disheartening her words were, they were true (though she did not want to accept it). She had, indeed, been happier since she was able to express her feelings and not worry about what other people might say. When she was a man, she couldn't cry. It would destroy her image. But now…

"Let's go down. The others are probably waiting for us." She stood up abruptly. It was a very awkward conversation, and Sub-zero was glad it was over…for now at least. Li Mei did not force her opinions on other people, nor did she pry into their lives to find out what they were thinking. That was what Sub-zero liked about her.

The two made their way downstairs to find only one person in the living room. The others were either still packing or were already on their way to the campsite. The said person looked at Li Mei first, and scowled. When he shifted his gaze towards Sub-zero, his scowl became even deeper.

Li Mei set her bag down on the sofa, and looked at Sub-zero.

"I'll be right back." And with those words, she left in a hurry.

"Li Mei, get back here, this instant." Sub-zero hissed at her. Li Mei ran upstairs, leaving the two of them alone. Sub-zero stared into Scorpion's eyes. She held his gaze for what seemed like a very long minute before Scorpion turned away.

It was obvious to Sub-zero, that Scorpion was not intending to leave, but wanted her to leave him alone instead. _Well, two can play that game. _Sub-zero would not give in to Scorpion. She sat down on the sofa opposite him, took out a book and read it…well at least pretended to read it.

Scorpion was visibly annoyed that she had decided to stay and not go away. He continued staring at her, knowing that that irritated her more than anything. He knew that she hated being stared at and she knew he was doing that to make her leave. She put the book down and glared back at him. She was not going to move from her spot. If Scorpion did not want to be in the same room as she was in, he'd have to be the one to avoid her. Then, Scorpion had decided to speak.

"Leave me in peace, Zeiva." He emphasized her alias.

Sub-zero cringed inwardly. She hated remembering the past. Yet, she did not show any sign that she was affected by it. She just continued to glare at him as she spoke.

"This is not your living room, Scorpion." She replied as coldly as she could. That set him off.

"I arrived here first."

"Who cares if you were here first? You don't have the right to choose who can or who can't sit on these sofas."

"You will be the death of me." He glowered at her.

"You're already dead." She reminded him. "Plus, my brother is the reason you are dead. Not me. Don't confuse the two of us just because we have the same name."

Scorpion brought his fist down on the coffee table with a loud bang. He stood up and towered over her.

"Do not, try my patience." He gritted his teeth.

"I cannot test your patience since it is quite obvious that you don't have any." At this point, Sub-zero had also stood up. She was a bit smaller than Scorpion because of her being a girl but they were evenly matched in their glaring competition.

"You are annoying the Netherrealm out of me." And he swore after saying that statement.

"And you are going to kill me with your poor choice of words." Sub-zero crossed her arms over her chest.

"If I could kill you now, my life would be complete." Sub-zero could see his inner struggle. Whether he would grab his sword or not.

Scorpion took one step towards her and their faces were inches, no, centimeters away from each other. Still, Sub-zero did not flinch at their proximity.

"I despise you, Sub-zero. I loathe you. I hate you." He said scathingly.

"Oh, I had no idea that we were here to be redundant." She retorted mockingly, though his words stung her.

"You are the worst thing that ever came into my life." He growled.

The words hurt Sub-zero deeply. There was another lump in her throat, which she managed to ignore. She swallowed.

"At least I'm not some Elder God damned hellspawn, who has nothing left in his life but hatred towards everybody he knows!" she yelled at him. She gasped as she realized what she had said. Scorpion stopped glaring abruptly. Hurt flashed in his eyes for a moment. Sub-zero sighed and shook her head.

"You win." she said quietly. Then, she did something totally out of character, something that surprised both of them.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. She looked at the floor. She was right. It did surprise him. He whirled around to face her, shock on his face.

"What?"

Sub-zero lifted her gaze and looked at him.

"I said 'I'm sorry.'" She said. "For everything." This time,_ she _turned around. It was never easy for her to apologize. "I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm sorry for betraying your trust." The tears were in her eyes once again but she decided not to let them fall. "You had told me a lot of your secrets, and shared to me stories you would not have told anyone else. You told me a lot about your clan. But let me tell you this…

"I was never planning to use that information against you. Nor was I plotting the best way to get rid of you by using everything you have told me."

Scorpion just stared at her as if she had suddenly grown arms on her head and feet on her face.

"And one more thing…" She faced him. "Thank you…for everything you had done for me. Though we despise each other now, I am glad that I had known the real you, Scorpion. I'm glad for the time we had spent with each other." _Dear Elder Gods, that came out like some mushy love quote. _"So…thank you."

Sub-zero glanced one more time at the very befuddled-looking Scorpion and started to climb the steps.

"You're wrong, Sub-zero." She heard Scorpion say quietly. She stopped mid-step. He stood up and started to walk away.

"This time…_you_ win. But it does not change the fact that I hate you, and you hate me." And he ran away. Sub-zero stared at his retreating figure, tears almost rolling down her cheeks. She walked down the stairs and sat back down on the sofa. She took a deep breath and told herself that it definitely wasn't the time for her to be crying as there were more important things to worry about.

Li Mei then returned to the living room after a few moments.

"Oh? Where's Scorpion?" She asked Sub-zero, who in turn answered her with another question.

"What took you so long?" she glared at her.

"Oh, I…umm…had trouble with the…soap dispenser in the bathroom." Li Mei stuttered. Indeed she was a horrible liar. Sub-zero shook her head and lay down on the sofa.

"What happened?" Li Mei asked.

"As if you weren't watching from behind that jar." Sub-zero rolled her eyes. "I am most definitely not blind, you know…nor am I deaf." She added when she saw the "Oh-my-God-how-did-you-know" expression on Li Mei's face.

"All right, you caught me." She raised both her hands up in resignation. "I just thought that you two needed some time alone."

"Thanks a lot. Indeed, it was such a splendid idea." Sub-zero's words were dripping with sarcasm.

"You're welcome." Li Mei ignored, or probably did not notice, the sarcasm in her voice.

Sub-zero sighed.

"Please do not do that again, unless I ask you to do so." She closed her eyes.

"I'm not making any promises." She shrugged. "Come, let's head down to the campsite. Some of the others are already there."

The two were about to leave when Sub-zero remembered something.

"Wait! I just remembered…Hanzo!" she called for her student. When she got no response, she shot a confused look at Li Mei, who was grinning. "What?"

"Oh…nothing. I just remembered how Hanzo had said that he actually fancied you…and how much he looked like Scorpion."

Sub-zero sighed at what she said.

"Come along. Sareena will accompany him." She grabbed Sub-zero by her arm and dragged her outside.

They walked side by side in silence. Sub-zero was thinking about Hanzo. Something he had done caught her attention. She frowned, remembering the incident. It was odd. _He's a _Lin Kuei_…so how did he…? _Then, comprehension dawned upon her. She froze in her tracks. _No…No…Impossible…_

"…ero…Sub-zero!" Sub-zero just noticed Li Mei waving her hand in front of her face. "Are you all right? You look a little…pale." She looked worriedly at her friend.

Sub-zero forced herself to smile.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm just a little hungry." She lied.

"Don't worry, we're only a kilometer away from the campsite. You can eat when we get there."

Sub-zero merely nodded at her, not really paying attention to what she was saying. If what she thought was true, then it would all make perfect sense…She shook her head. She would have to ask Hanzo about it. Even though she thought that she would faint, if she found out that her speculations were true.

When the two reached the campsite, a few of them had already set up tents around a small campfire. Somewhere near the forest, Jade and Kung Lao were arguing with each other. Both of them were standing up. Jade had one hand on her waist and had one flailing about as she was explaining something to him. Kung Lao had crossed his arms over his chest and was trying to listen to Jade while it was obvious that he was starting to get impatient.

Sub-zero was about to set her bag inside one of the tents when she heard Jade yell at him.

"I AM FINE. What can't you understand?" She screamed and bolted into the forest. Kung Lao ran after her.

All of the people there stared after them for a few moments and proceeded to what they were doing.

Sub-zero put her belongings in the tent she was to share with Li Mei, and looked around her. To her right, Johnny was trying to seduce Sonya, who in turn was trying not to be allured by his charms. She smiled inwardly at the pair. She looked to her left and was greeted by a shocking sight.

Sareena was sparring with Hanzo. But that wasn't why it was shocking. It was because Sub-zero first thought Hanzo was Scorpion…because he was using a spear. She wasn't aware of his skill in using a spear. For the Elder Gods' sake, she didn't even know he owned one.

Sub-zero swallowed. That strengthened her assumption. _Right. Now or never._

"Hanzo!" She called out to him. He immediately stopped and looked at her…and because of that he got hit squarely on the chest by Sareena. "That had to hurt." He stood up and made his way towards her while rubbing his chest.

"Yes, Grandmaster?"

Sub-zero jerked her head towards the river. It was strange that wherever they went, a river was nearby. They sat down on the grass.

"You needed to talk to me, Grandmaster?" he asked.

"Yes, I do. There's just something I need to know." Sub-zero frowned.

"What is it?"

"Do you remember the night you fought with Kenshi?"

"How could I ever forget?" Hanzo made a face. Sub-zero smiled a bit at his childishness.

"When I arrived at Kenshi's room, he was injured…"

"Yeah?"

"And the injury looked like a burn." She finished the statement. "Tell me Hanzo. You are a Lin Kuei, your specialty is supposed to be ice. How did you use fire techniques?"

"I…I don't know." Hanzo gulped.

Was he lying? Sub-zero couldn't tell. She raised one brow.

"I don't know, Grandmaster. I…I was angry with him…jealous…and the power just burst from my hands." He sighed.

"So that power was induced by anger?" Sub-zero couldn't help but liken Hanzo to _him_. _His_ powers were also strengthened by his anger.

"Yes." Hanzo nodded. "It isn't anything new. I suppose I got that power from my family."

"Your family?" she was curious now. Very curious.

"Yes. My father was a very good swordsman and he was skilled in using weapons such as daggers, shurikens and stuff like that. My mother, on the other hand, had both fire and ice abilities." He looked up, remembering his parents. "They were the best parents one person could ever wish for."

"I'm sure they were." Sub-zero smiled faintly. "So I suppose your father was the person who taught you how to use a spear?"

"My father? Oh no. Not him." He smiled. "My brother taught me how to use the spear. He was a skilled warrior."

"Your…brother?" Sub-zero's voice cracked.

"Yes. You see, I had a brother. Well, he fell in love with a beautiful young woman…they were so happy together. They even had a son." He seemed so happy. "But my parents value honor above everything else, and they considered him a disgrace when he married someone from a different race. So…they disowned him."

Sub-zero nodded at him to go on. She couldn't speak.

"I had no idea what happened to my brother after that. After a few years, my parents told me that he was killed during a battle." He sighed.

"Hanzo…what is your last name?"

"Hasashi." Sub-zero thought that she was going to faint. "My name is Hanzo Hasashi."

"You can't be Hanzo Hasashi. I know somebody with the same name." Sub-zero accused him. It couldn't be true.

"My real name is Ryu. But after they had claimed that my brother had died, they renamed me Hanzo…My brother was Hanzo Hasashi."

Sub-zero hyperventilated. Her student…was the brother of Scorpion…It all made perfect sense; how he was able to use fire, why he looked like Scorpion and why he wielded the same weapons as he did.

They were brothers.

"Grandmaster…are you all right? You look really pale. I mean, I'm sorry you had to listen to my rambling about my family."

"No. It's fine." She forced a smile. "Come. Sareena might want to continue her sparring session with you."

The two walked back to their camp in silence.

Sub-zero was distraught. Her own student was Scorpion's brother. Did Scorpion know? Does he know that he is his own brother? Probably not. He didn't even tell her about him. Then again, he had told her that he had no siblings.

She frowned.

So, she wasn't the only one who lied. Scorpion had a lot of explaining to do. If they had a chance to talk civilly to each other.

OoooooooO

Sub-zero sat near the campfire alone. The others had either already gone inside their tents to sleep, or stayed up to watch out for enemies. Jade and Kung Lao had returned from the forest and weren't talking to each other. From the looks of things, Kitana was talking to Jade, for they were still inside her tent.

She still could not believe that Hanzo was Scorpion's brother. It came as a shock. She never expected this to happen. She sighed.

At least she was almost over the shock. Almost.

She rubbed her eyes. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't.

"Why are you still awake?" she heard a voice from behind her. She couldn't help but grin. He always makes her smile.

"I was thinking." She replied.

Kenshi sat down beside her. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"I found out something really, really disturbing today, Kenshi." She said softly.

"Really? Amaze me." He challenged her.

"I found out…that…" Kenshi raised an eyebrow. "my dear student, Hanzo, is…"

"Is what?"

"Is…Scorpion's brother." She whispered to him.

Kenshi was about to yell but one look from Sub-zero made him soften his voice.

"What?" he asked.

"See. You I told you it was disturbing."

"Disturbing as the Netherrealm." He shivered. "No wonder he hates me too."

Sub-zero laughed despite her current feeling. Kenshi was a great friend.

"You've got two brothers fighting for your heart." He laughed. "I don't want to be a part of it."

"Scorpion doesn't love me." She said quietly.

"You don't believe me, eh?" Kenshi smiled at her. "You'll see. In time…"

"You're such a great friend, Kenshi." Sub-zero hugged the said person. "I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"Indeed." He agreed. Sub-zero laughed and punched him in the arm lightly. Then, she laid her head back on his shoulder and miraculously, she fell asleep.

**A/N: WAIT! Before you throw tomatoes, celery, mangoes, whatever at me, I would first like to apologize. SORRY for taking so long. I really am. I've been busy, I'm sorry. **

**I made this chapter longer than usual...Haha. What do you guys think? Too cliche? Was it too obvious that Hanzo was his brother? XD**

**[I have been accepted into my dream college! YES! I AM SOOO HAPPY! Hurrah!] **

**I am happy that there are people who are actually looking forward to my updating this fanfic. Thanks so much for your support. **

**I am happy. But I'll be happier if you review! Please leave a review! ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME. XD**

**P.S. This story is going to end after 2 – 3 chapters. Please check out the poll on my page. Love you all! **

**I'll be uploading the purplestar213's and ViciousViper14's oneshots after this fanfic, because they are parallel to this story. We wouldn't want any spoilers now, would we?**


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

"Tell me something, Kenshi." Sub-zero mopped the sweat off her forehead and examined those which clung onto her hand.

"It depends on what you want to know." He stretched.

"Why are we here...under the blistering heat...waiting for something to happen?" she wanted to freeze a block of ice and stand beside it, just to relieve her of the heat, but she knew better than to waste her energy.

"Well, Shujinko's 'apparition' has led _some_ of us to believe that the battle would begin today." Sub-zero laughed at his emphasis on 'some'. It was apparent that he didn't believe in his premonition.

"That still doesn't answer my question, though." she shook her head. "Why us?"

"Oh! Because Shujinko thought we were the best people for the job! How convenient, no?" The mockery and sarcasm in his voice were evident and, yet again, it made Sub-zero laugh.

"Weren't you and Shujinko BFF's (she learned the word from Li Mei) back when we were doing that Onaga mission?" Sub-zero teased him. "You even called him 'Gramps'."

"Yeah, yeah._ Back_ when we were doing that Onaga mission. You said it yourself." He pointed out.

Sub-zero looked at her friend. He seemed happy, confused and annoyed all at the same time. Something was obviously bothering him.

"Are you all right, Kenshi?" Sub-zero asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no." He dismissed her worry with a wave of his hand.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow. "You know you can trust me, Kenshi."

"I know I can." He sighed. "It's just...well...I just can't."

"Wait." she gave him a very puzzled look. "You said you trust me...but you can't? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I meant I can't tell you."

Sub-zero crossed her arms.

"Why not?" She squinted. Kenshi used to tell her everything. He never kept secrets. At least, not from her.

"It's...complicated."

Sub-zero sighed in resignation. "If you don't want to tell, you don't have to." she mumbled. She turned around and walked away.

"Hey! Wait! We're supposed to stand here and wait for any sign of the evil people things!" He called.

"I'll send Li Mei over to keep you company." she replied still waling towards the camp. She heard Kenshi sigh.

"Not Li Mei..." he muttered. It was barely audible, but Sub-zero heard what he said anyway. So his current 'happy-confused-annoyed' look was caused by Li Mei? No, maybe not. She shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Li Mei." she said when she reached the camp.

"Yeah?" the raven-haired girl replied. She had just finished sparring with Ashrah, who gave her a small smile when she looked towards her direction.

"Go and accompany Kenshi. He needs help over there." she waved her hand towards the direction she came from. Li Mei's cheeks visibly colored at the mention of Kenshi's name, but complied with Sub-zero's request.

She sat down on the ground, contemplating on Hanzo, her student, and Scorpion. They were brothers. It wasn't very surprising, it was a bit obvious. Still, Sub-zero couldn't accept the fact that Scorpion had also lied to her. He was getting so worked up about her lying to him, when he did the same thing.

"Hypocrite." she whispered. She was upset. Scorpion was such a hypocrite! _I should just go and beat the crap out of him! _She thought. But soon after, she deflated. It would do their side no good if two allies were to try and kill each other. It would be a more distressing matter if one of them actually succeeded in doing so.

She didn't know if it complicated matters. About her knowing that her student was actually a Shirai Ryu. Would that be considered as treason? The boy was a Shirai Ryu, and yet, he came and trained and soon enough he became a Lin Kuei. Well, he didn't know that he was a Shirai Ryu. He even believed that the Shirai Ryu killed his family. Scorpion would never kill his own family.

She came up with the conclusion that it wouldn't be considered as treason since he had no knowledge of being a Shirai Ryu...but what if the other Lin Kuei warriors found out about it? Would they want him dead because of the rivalry between their clans? No. Sub-zero would not let that happen. They cannot know about it. But...didn't they have a right to know? In the Lin Kuei temple, there were no secrets. There was no dictatorship. They had always been a democratic clan. Sub-zero was their leader, and most of them respect her and trust her.

Sub-zero frowned when she heard shouting. She turned her head to the right and saw the unmistakable images of Scorpion and Hanzo, hidden behind the trees. What did Scorpion do this time?

She stood up and walked over to them. They were about to start fighting when Sub-zero stepped in between them, pushing them apart.

"All right. Stop it." she turned to Scorpion. "Scorpion, what did you want with my student?"

He laughed, it was short and bitter. "What made you think that I wanted something from him? He's the one who approached me and started all this nonsense about me killing his whole family."

Sub-zero blinked at him and then faced her student. "Is Scorpion telling the truth?"

Sub-zero could see Hanzo's inner struggle, whether to tell the truth or not.

"Well?" she pressed.

He sighed. "Yes." he mumbled. Sub-zero shook her head. She felt guilty for assuming that Scorpion had started the fight.

"I already told you, Hanzo. I am pretty sure that-,"

"Hanzo?" Scorpion sounded surprised.

"-Scorpion did not murder your family." she continued, unperturbed.

"How can you be sure?" he challenged. From the corner of her eye, she saw Scorpion's eyes flash in anger.

"Because Scorpion is not that kind of person." She came in his defense. Sub-zero did not have to look at him to know that he was shocked. "There is no point for him to massacre your whole family. If he had an ulterior motive, which I doubt he has, then maybe you could accuse him, but not fully. You can only go so far as to speculate and investigate, Hanzo. If you come up with enough evidence to support your theory, maybe you could confront him then. But not now, Hanzo, not when we're about to fight, not when you have nothing but murky memories to support your hypothesis." she finally finished.

Scorpion gaped at her, speechless.

"I don't believe it." Hanzo whispered.

"Believe what?" she asked.

"You're siding with him! I'm your student! I'm a Lin Kuei! He's a Shirai Ryu! How could you?"

"How could I what, Hanzo? How could I defend this man from your delusions?" she raised her voice. "I am still your Grandmaster and I will not tolerate such disrespect from a student whom I hoped that one day, could take over the Lin Kuei!" she yelled at him.

Now, two of them were gaping at her.

"The Lin Kuei have to learn to be unbiased. Despite his being a Shirai Ryu, you cannot dishonor him by accusing him of murdering your family." she looked straight into Hanzo's eyes.

"I see. I see, now." he said after a few moments.

"You see, what?"

"How can you lecture me about being biased when you've been biased from the start!" he shouted.

"What?" Sub-zero yelled back.

"You're siding with him because he's the one you love, not me! I know! You're a hypocrite, Grandmaster! A hypocrite! I don't even know who you are anymore!"

"Of course you don't...you've never known who I am! You don't know who I am, Hanzo!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Oh? And he does?" his anger was getting the best of him yet again. "I wish you'd die..." he trailed off and his eyes widened. He realized that he had said too much.

Sub-zero was hurt by her student's words. He wanted her dead...after all that she had given him. She remembered the beating she received from Noob Saibot in her attempt to stop him from killing Hanzo. She swallowed thickly.

"Grandmaster, I didn't mean-,"

"Get out of my sight." she hissed.

"But I-," he was cut off.

"I said go away!" She shouted angrily. No one had ever seen Sub-zero this angry. She always had her emotions in check. The boy hastily ran towards the opposite direction.

She sank down to the ground and buried her face in her hands. His words had cut her like a knife. Was she that useless? Was she that worthless to only be tossed aside?

Worthless was a word she had learned when she was still young, and it was one word that she would never, ever forget. Everyone called her worthless, a burden to her parents and her brother. Until now, she could not forget the many times she cried late at night when she was sure that nobody was awake. She didn't want them to add insult to injury. Her wounds were not yet fully healed, and even if she had done a lot for Earthrealm, for her clan, and for her friends, the thoughts of being worthless still reverberated inside her head.

A hand touched her shoulder lightly, and she was reminded that she wasn't alone. Scorpion was still with her. He heard everything that Hanzo said. This thought made her bury her head deeper into her hands.

"...you're not worthless, you know." Scorpion tried to comfort her quietly. "I know that's what you're thinking. And you aren't. You've done so much for the realms, for you clan, for your friends, for your student..." he spoke to her in a low voice. Sub-zero still did not raise her head. "and for me." he added.

"Stop crying." he silently ordered her. Only then was she aware of the tears trickling down her face. He tried to sound annoyed, but failed miserably. "It will be of no use to us if you vent out your frustrations now."

Sub-zero took her mask off and wiped her tears. She was still hurting, but Scorpion's words had made her feel better. After breathing in and out repeatedly, she faced Scorpion.

He looked distraught. Like the time when she became sick and wanted to do something for her but couldn't. She tried to smile at him but it came out as a grimace, and he visibly winced.

"He doesn't deserve you." he said quietly. It was odd hearing this from him. He was, after all, her nemesis, her rival. He was still trying to assess his emotions, she thought. He didn't know whether he should comfort her or leave her.

She was silent for a few moments and tried to smile again. This time, she half-succeeded. It wasn't a genuine smile, but it was a start. She needed to recover from the pain.

She put her mask back on.

"Thank you." she whispered. "You've done so much for me." she didn't want her voice to crack.

"We have a battle to win." He changed the subject and walked away from her. She followed his lead.

"Don't get too affected by what he said." Kitana suddenly said to Sub-zero when their whole group reached the crater, the place where the battle was supposed to take place. Kenshi thought he felt the aura of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. He and Ermac wanted to go and check it out, but Shujinko wouldn't hear of it. He wanted everyone to stick together lest all of them were caught off guard.

"What?"

"I heard you and Hanzo a while ago. Well, a lot of us did. You have quite a set of lungs." She complimented her.

"Thanks." she replied.

"Don't let it get to you. He didn't mean what he said." she said while drawing her steel fans and inspecting them.

"Of course he didn't." she tried to say nonchalantly. Kitana sighed and said something that Sub-zero barely understood. She nodded.

The sky begun to darken.

From afar, they heard the roar of a Shokan. They drew their weapons. They knew, they could feel their enemies coming towards them.

The ones in front, Scorpion, Kung Lao, Cyrax, Jax, and Johnny broke into a run. Those behind them followed their example.

"Why are we running?" Sub-zero asked Kitana.

"Adrenaline rush." she replied. She paused and smiled behind her veil. "It makes the fight more exciting."

Sub-zero turned her attention back to the front. She could already see their enemies coming closer. Her heart beat faster at the thought of the fight that was coming soon. Would she survive? Would any of them survive?

Who would make it out alive?

The forces of light?

The forces of darkness?

Who would win this?

This was it. The final battle.

Who would live to see the next day?

Sub-zero gritted her teeth as she formed her Kori blade in her hand.

She would make sure she would.

And the two sides collided.

**A/N: Hey Guys! Sorry, it's more of a cliffhanger. LOL. I know you hate those, [I hate 'em too.] but I really needed the chapter to end there. I actually like this chapter. Haha. XD**

**I'll update soon. After my online enlistment [Monday]. Love you all! :)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviews! :)**

**Two more chapters left! :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28**

Sub-zero attacked the person in front of her, Reptile. As her blade clashed with his, she wondered how he came back. Had Onaga not used him as a vessel? So why was he here?

Swing. Swing.

Clash. Clash.

Duck. Duck.

Kick.

Punch.

Dodge to the left.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she jumped to her right to evade his spit. The ground where she once stood was now corroding.

_Note to self: Do not let his spit touch any part of you._

He hissed. He held both his hands in front of him, and with a puff of green smoke, he vanished. Sub-zero blinked. Did he retreat? If so, why? Their fight had barely started. She did not sheathe her blade and surveyed her surroundings.

It made no sense. He was not losing...hell, it was almost an even match.

Amidst her thoughts, she heard hissing behind her.

Shoot.

She turned around and held her Kori Blade in front of her and barely blocked Reptile's attack.

_He can turn invisible? That is so unfair._ It must be one of those Saurian traits. She frowned. He withdrew his sword. Sub-zero cursed her bad luck. She had no idea where he would strike next.

From the left? Or from the right?

"Don't panic." she muttered to herself. She tried to listen for any sign of Reptile attacking. But it was too difficult for her to tune out everybody who was fighting. She can hear Kenshi's growl of annoyance, Shao Kahn's laugh of triumph, Jade's screams, Scorpion's sighs and gasps of pain.

Scorpion. Gasping. In pain.

She shook her head. She needed to concentrate. _He doesn't need my help. _She thought. _He can handle it on his own._

She was too focused in looking for her opponent that she was unable to dodge Raiden as he came crashing towards her and hit her from the back. She landed face first on the ground. She pushed herself upright and thrust her blade in front of her. If, she had to fight Raiden to survive, she would. But she noticed that his focus was not on her. He had his back to her and was sending sparks towards Shinnok. Sub-zero raised her eyebrow.

God versus God. Both ex-Elder Gods.

_How epic._ She turned from them and wondered if her opponent _had_ left gone off to find someone else to fight. She lowered her defenses and turned around. As she did, something green had hit her on the face.

It was Reptile's spit.

Thankfully, she was wearing her mask. She took it off and threw it to the ground before the corrosive substance found its way to her skin. She growled at the Saurian.

"That was my favorite mask."

Kung Lao, who had just seen what had taken place, chuckled at what she said.

"You almost got killed by that green substance and you're worried about your mask?" he grinned as he sliced some sort of demon that Shinnok had summoned. He stood beside her and took on a defensive stance. "Need any help?"

"Not really." She charged towards Reptile, who had lost his concentration and was unable to remain invisible. He roared as their blades clashed. Glancing at Kung Lao, she saw the monk merely shrug and punch one of Quan Chi's assassins.

Wait…roared?

_Saurians don't roar. _She thought to herself as she plunged her blade into his shoulder. _Maybe he's half-tarkatan…but that doesn't make any sense, _she debunked her own theory. She shook her head. She was thinking such useless thoughts. It usually happened when she was studying her adversary. He roared yet again, interrupting her train of thought. He then scratched her exposed arm with his claw. She jumped backwards to avoid his claw from scratching her face as well. She didn't need more than one scar on her face.

Reptile hissed at her, sending more of his acidic spit towards her. She evaded it and brought her sword down on his arm. She sliced it off and he growled in pain. He took a step backward and scowled at her…not that he wasn't already doing so about fifteen minutes ago. Then again, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Was it safe to assume that he had already given up?

She inhaled through her mouth, and found that that wasn't one of her wisest decisions. She coughed a little at first, until she could practically feel the sand in her throat and coughed harder. She fell on her knees and tried to expel what she could of the particles which were now stuck on her windpipe. She then remembered why she always wore the mask. During battles, it was imperative that she wear one, since it helps regulate her breathing and shields her mouth (and throat) from foreign objects.

She stood up and just as she was, Scorpion was shoving something into her hands.

"Wha-," she started to say, but was cut off.

"Wear it. You'll be no use if you cough your way through the whole fight." He muttered and ran off to resume his fight with Baraka.

Sub-zero looked at the object in her hand in surprise. He gave her his mask.

That was odd.

She blushed lightly before putting the mask on. It was too big for her face, but it was better than having no mask on, at all.

She heard somebody behind her.

She turned around and raised her Ice Blade above her head, and barely blocked Hotaru's attack. Sub-zero frowned and pushed him back as Hotaru landed and pointed his weapon at her.

"I've never known you to be such a dishonorable man, Hotaru." She had learned about that man from Raiden. He always said that he was honorable…a little too honorable to be exact. And a perfectionist as well. Well, coming from the Orderrealm, it didn't seem to be too surprising. She seethed. His attack was low and underhanded. He glared at her.

"I hardly see how my actions can be deemed dishonorable." He said coldly.

She scoffed at him.

"Attacking someone from behind isn't something I would call _honorable_." She emphasized the word. "Was that not taught to you during your training?" She saw him visibly grit his teeth.

"Perhaps I have heard of that once or twice." He jumped towards her and kicked her squarely on her chest. Sub-zero was sent a few feet from where she was originally, but still she was standing. She recovered quickly and charged towards him, Kori Blade in tow.

"How are you holding up?" She heard Kenshi shout to her as he kicked Hsu Hao squarely on the face. He was somewhere behind her. The half cyborg-looking man spit out blood and charged at the swordsman.

"I'm all right!" she replied, driving her sword through Hotaru's stomach. He gasped and stumbled backwards. He put a hand in front of him and the next thing Sub-zero knew, she was flying through the air and colliding with Li Mei who had just cut off one of Darius' legs. Sub-zero blew a strand of hair from her face.

"Are you all right?" Li Mei stood up first and offered her hand to Sub-zero. She accepted it. As she stood up, she pushed Li Mei out of the way ("What the hell did you do that for?" Li Mei landed on her behind.) and thrust her blade in front of her to block Hotaru's weapon as he brought it down on her. She ducked as he swung it towards her head and she swept him off his feet, literally. With one swift move, she sliced off Hotaru's head and his blood spattered on her.

"Wow. That was quick. What a piece of sh-," Li Mei was cut off as Sub-zero gave her a pointed look. "Oh...right. I forgot that you never really approved of swearing." she rolled her eyes.

"Now, repeat after me: 'Thank you for saving me, Sub-zero.'" Sub-zero said in mockery as she wiped her face on her sleeve.

Li Mei rolled her eyes yet again.

"Thank you for saving me, Sub-Behind you!" She yelled at her.

"Wha-," she was cut off as she was grabbed from behind by a Shokan. Li Mei, on the other hand, was stabbed in the foot by her recovering opponent. Darius smirked triumphantly as she fell to the ground, clutching her ankle. Sub-zero gasped for breath as Goro attempted to choke the life out of her.

Sub-zero opened her eyes and saw Goro grinning menacingly at her.

"You will die today, Human." he addressed her. "You've caused enough trouble for us." His breath wafted over her face and, for some reason, it reminded her of corpses from Netherrealm. And how in the world could that smell have been that intense? She was wearing a mask, for Raiden's sake!

"Say what you like, Shokan." she gritted her teeth in pain. Poor choice of words, she thought as it apparently angered Goro. She would never admit it to anyone, but she thought she was going to die there and then. He slowly tightened his grip on her and she closed her eyes and let out a scream of pain as she heard one of her ribs crack. As she opened her eyes, she saw Kenshi running towards her.

As he was, she made a mental letter.

_Dear Elder Gods, thank you for giving me a friend like Kenshi. Signed, Sub-zero. _

As she was about to mail it, however, Kenshi ran past her and Goro. Shock was Sub-zero's initial reaction as to why Kenshi had not helped her. She tilted her head, (it didn't matter to her if it hurt like hell, she felt like she was about to die, anyway) and saw him helping Li Mei fight off Darius. He could've helped her first. She was in a much worse situation than Li Mei was in. She felt…betrayed. She frowned at this thought.

_I was the one who rejected him; he should not be obligated to save me._ She thought.

**But he said that he'd always be there to protect you. **A tiny voice in her head began arguing with her.

_He did say he would try to forego his feelings._

**Nevertheless, he broke his promise. He's your friend.**

She clenched her teeth as Goro crushed her slowly.

_Looks like I'm going to die. What a stupid death. _

**I agree.**

_And as I am being crushed to death, I am arguing with myself about Kenshi's actions. _She sighed inwardly. She firmly shut her eyes and hoped that the Lin Kuei would fall under the hands of somebody responsible. Just as she thought that all hope was lost, she was released by the said Shokan and she fell on the ground. She opened her eyes and blinked at the creature who had suddenly lost one of his arms. She heard a satisfied grunt to her left and as she followed the source, she saw Scorpion smirking. The said ninja brought the Shokan to his knees and, with one swift move, severed his head.

She stood up and gasped as she did. The crack on one, maybe two, of her ribs wasn't the worst injury she ever had but it still hurt. He turned to her as she clutched her chest.

"Are you all right?" he sounded worried.

Scorpion, worried? The heat was probably getting to her…or to him.

"I'm fine," She smiled replied. "Thank you for saving me."

"We need most, if not all, of our allies alive." His uncovered face was now slightly red. It made Sub-zero confused for a moment.

"I see. Well, I most definitely am alive." She laughed briefly. "Not in perfect condition but I'm good to go."

He merely nodded at her and looked over to the right. Following his gaze, she could see Kenshi and Li Mei walking – Li Mei limping – towards them.

"Sub-zero, are you all right?" Kenshi asked her, anxiety was etched on his face. Before she could come up with a sarcastic remark, Scorpion decided to lecture the said swordsman.

"Did you not tell her that you would always be there for her?" Scorpion glared at the younger man before him.

"I-I-I did…" Kenshi stuttered, astonished by Scorpion's words.

"And did you not say that you would protect her?" He continued on glowering.

"I did, but-,"

"And did you not state that you would die before anything touched her? And that you would not watch her get hurt?"

Kenshi sighed.

"Yes, I did."

"Then why, in the name of the Elder Gods, were you not there to prevent this-this beast from choking the life out of her?" He yelled at him.

Sub-zero was surprised at his vehemence.

"I was helping Li Mei." he reasoned.

"Oh, so you thought that helping Li Mei with _Darius_, a human, one who could do nothing more than juggle his knives and attack using said knives was more important than helping Sub-zero, who was fighting a Shokan, that is four times her size and resistant to ice and was already crushing her?" He finally finished. He looked so angry.

Sub-zero glanced at Li Mei. The purple clad woman was staring at the ground, looking repentant.

_She has no reason to look so guilty._

"Well…I hadn't thought about it-,"

"You clearly had not!" he continued berating him. "Because of your inability to process situations like these, and your impulsiveness, this person here, has now one or two cracked ribs!"

Kenshi looked at her incredulously. Li Mei, on the other hand, looked like she was questioning the validity of Scorpion's accusations.

"Yes. I do have…one or two cracked ribs." She admitted. Li Mei's look shifted from inquisitive to concerned. Sub-zero turned her gaze to Scorpion who was glowering at Kenshi, probably thinking that his stare would bore holes onto Kenshi's face. "How'd you know I had a broken rib?"

Scorpion rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You were clutching your chest when you stood. So, the only explanations for your behavior are: one, you had a broken rib, or two, your heart is aching. And I doubt that it was the latter so the former had become my conclusion."

"I…see." Sub-zero smiled. "Thank you for fighting with Kenshi on my behalf."

He looked away.

"I didn't do it for you." He muttered. "I did it for myself. Do you think I enjoy saving you all the time? No. Of course not. And as much as I hate to admit it, we cannot lose a skilled fighter." He was frowning.

It was silent for a few seconds.

"It would be wise for us to continue on with our fights." Those were his last words before running towards a laughing Kano and punching him.

Sub-zero shrugged and ran the opposite direction leaving the two of them. After crossing a few feet, she met her student.

"Hanzo?" she asked. The boy looked murderous.

"Grandmaster." There was a cold edge to his voice that didn't suit him at all. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you all right?" she asked him.

Was there anything wrong with him?

He formed ice daggers on his hand.

_Yes. There definitely is. Dear Elder Gods, this is like Déjà vu._

Hanzo looked exactly like Frost did before she tried to get the Dragon Medallion from him.

_This is not good._

"Hanzo?"

"You…you lied to me!"

Sub-zero blinked at the boy. What? What did he say?

"What?" she was confused…very confused. "Put your daggers away, Hanzo, I've no time for this."

"I now know the truth, Grandmaster." He sneered. "You have been lying to me all this time!"

"Wha-? Lying? About what?"

"You only trained me so that you could use me!"

_What the-_

"Where the hell did you get _that_ from?" Her patience was growing thin. "And what in the world would I use you for? There's no point. And I know you're waiting for me to make the first move. Well, don't. What is wrong with you, my apprentice?"

With that, Hanzo attacked, and Sub-zero blocked it easily. He aimed for her face, and Sub-zero evaded it.

"I'm dispensable, aren't I? After you had trained me, you would use me." He said after a few minutes. He was already breathing heavily. Sub-zero wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"How can you think that you're dispensable, that you mean nothing to me at all?" Sub-zero whispered. She saw Hanzo falter at the sad look in her eyes. "I was ready to give my life up for you. Don't you remember? I saved you from my own brother."

"Grandmaster…I-," Sub-zero saw his hesitation. He looked away from her. After a moment's thought, he charged at Sub-zero using his ice daggers.

Sub-zero blocked the attack using her sword and Hanzo was thrown two feet away from her. She sighed and let her sword disappear. She approached him.

Hanzo, thinking she might attack him, raised his daggers. Sub-zero continued to walk towards him and when she was about only a few inches away from him, she decided to close the gap and hug him.

Astonishment was evident in Hanzo's face, even though he was wearing a mask. After one or two seconds, he recovered from his shock and raised his dagger.

"Kill me if that is your wish." Sub-zero said. Her voice was unwavering, and it sounded so…motherly. "Know, however, that I never planned to use you." Sub-zero pulled back from the hug a little and looked Hanzo in the eye. "You're my student. You're like a son to me…or a little brother." She touched his face lightly. "Once you kill me…" Hanzo's eyes filled with unshed tears. "You will be the Lin Kuei's new Grandmaster." Hanzo's look of shock returned to his face again. "At least I would die knowing that I left the Lin Kuei in good hands."

Hanzo lowered his dagger and dropped it to the floor. He then grabbed Sub-zero into a bone crushing hug. His tears fell from his face to her shoulder.

"Hey now. Stop crying." She rubbed his back.

Never in a million years did Sub-zero ever imagine that she would be comforting anyone in the middle of the battlefield.

"I-I…Forgive me, Grandmaster. For everything; for saying that I preferred you dead than in the arms of Scorpion, for attacking you, for being an idiot."

"I forgive you." Sub-zero smiled behind the mask. "Who in the world ever told you those lies anyway?"

It was strange for her to resolve fights without having to resort in violence. Well, maybe there was a little physical combat involved.

She felt at peace. But when Hanzo raised his head from her shoulder to answer her question, she knew from the look on the boy's face that there was something wrong. Suddenly she felt Hanzo pull her from where she was and spin her. They ended up switching places.

"What-?" Sub-zero was cut off as she saw a blade through Hanzo's stomach. The said blade also pierced her somewhere in her upper abdomen. The blade looked familiar.

Sub-zero scowled. The sword slid out of both of their bodies and Hanzo's body fell to the ground, revealing the perpetrator.

"I did."

"You." Sub-zero growled. She knelt down and felt Hanzo's pulse. It was still there, but he was losing so much blood. Sub-zero took his shirt off and tore out a strip from it and tied it around his wound.

"You know, I can't believe he fell for my lies. You two are so gullible." she laughed menacingly. "I told him that after his training, you'd use him to do all your dirty work." She smirked. "Because you knew that he'd do anything for you."

Sub-zero glared at her, who was smirking in triumph. "I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"But you didn't." She laughed. She ran a hand through her now shoulder-length hair. She looked different from what Sub-zero remembered. Her outfit was now more revealing. She wore a sleeveless tunic with a plunging neckline. She was wearing a skirt which reached up to her knees and boots that reached up to her thighs. Not to mention her skirt had two slits at both sides, offering a view of her black underwear…although everything she was wearing was black, with a few highlights of dark blue. She also wore some sort of pendant around her neck.

For the first time since Quan Chi turned her into a woman, she thanked the Elder Gods that Quan Chi decided to turn her into one. If she were a guy today, she was sure that she would get distracted by what she was wearing.

"I let you go, and this is how you repay me?" Sub-zero glared at her.

"_Sifu_," she said mockingly. "You know what I want. If you give it to me, I'll kill you quickly…maybe if you beg me, I'd let you go."

Sub-zero laughed shortly before standing up.

"Me? Beg?" Sub-zero drew her sword and looked at her coldly. "I think you're suffering from delusions of grandeur, _my beloved apprentice._"

"Highly unlikely." She pointed her sword at her.

"Frost." Sub-zero said her name as icily as she could.

"Sub-zero." Frost spoke her name, frostily as Sub-zero did.

Just before the two charged at each other, the ground shook violently. The two fell on their knees, shoved their blades through the ground and held on to it to keep their balance. Sub-zero looked behind her. Somewhere in the distance, she saw a tall pyramid-like structure emerge from the ground. On top of it, was something Sub-zero had never seen before in her whole life.

It was a creature, larger than Onaga, which looked like a lava monster.

She saw most of the kombatants gawking at it. She spotted Taven running through them, shoving people out of his way.

Then it hit her.

'_A warrior named Rain said something about saving the realms.' _Taven had said.

"_Well, after the portal disappeared, Shinnok talked to himself. He said something about 'fire elementals', 'Blaze' and a 'prize'." _Johnny had explained to her.

"_Then, I asked him what all that 'Blaze' thing was about. He told me that the person who defeats this 'Blaze' thing will be granted something."_

This fight, this battle was meant for Taven. This is why he needed the armor he took from the temple. _He_ needs to be the one who would defeat this _Blaze_. She frowned. With all of the kombatants there, Taven would never make it to the top and defeat that monstrous thing.

She had to help him.

But Sub-zero had a battle with Frost. _And_ she had a student who was about to die. She clutched her Kori Blade tightly. What was a Grandmaster supposed to do? She then heard the sound of two swords hitting each other behind her. When she turned, she saw Sareena fighting with Frost.

"I know how much you want to go there and help, Sub-zero." Sub-zero turned around to see Ermac helping her student up. He finally got him to stand and he slung one of his arms around his neck. "Sareena knows too." He grinned at her. "Go, don't worry about us." He saw her hesitation. "I'll bring him to Fujin. A god ought to know how to heal him."

"Thank you, Ermac. Thanks, Sareena! ("My pleasure!" Sareena cut Frost's arm.)" Sub-zero shouted to Sareena as she sprinted towards the pyramid. She set her eyes on it, slashing her way through Shinnok's and Quan Chi's minions. As she reached the foot of the pyramid, however, she encountered more difficult foes.

The vampire – was it Nidara or Nitara? – met her on her way to the pyramid. She wanted the prize for herself, even though Sub-zero kept on telling her that it was meant for Taven. Her answer seemed to be the wrong one since Nitara bit her on the arm. Thankfully, she punched her away before Nitara could suck any blood out. Sub-zero conjured an ice spear and impaled her. Nitara was stuck as of the moment, and Sub-zero took advantage of the situation and escaped.

Half-way through the pyramid, she battled with Mileena. And she was frightening. Sub-zero had accidently ripped her veil off and she gasped in horror at her half-tarkatan face. Mileena got the better of her because of that and bit her on her shoulder. Sub-zero, however, was saved by Princess Kitana as she insulted Mileena about being ugly. The half-tarkatan all but forgot Sub-zero and attacked Kitana with her sais.

When Sub-zero almost reached the top, she heard a groan to her right and as she looked, she saw Taven. She rushed towards him. 'Bloody' didn't even describe the state he was in.

"Taven!" she kneeled down. "What happened to you?"

"Ah." He grimaced. "Lord Shinnok decided to interfere with my battle with Blaze." He coughed out blood. "He tried to kill me. I destroyed him first. But a god like that can't be defeated _that _easily, so I believe it wasn't him. But I believe he was controlling his doppelganger. Why would a fallen Elder God do that?"

"Well, he isn't an Elder God anymore. I suppose he wants it for power." She said. "Do you need any help?"

"I need you to do something for me, Sub-zero." He grasped her arm.

"Anything." She answered as seriously as she looked.

"Do you see the person fighting Blaze?"

Sub-zero looked up and saw Blaze engaged in Mortal Kombat with Kenshi. She nodded.

"He won't succeed."

Sub-zero felt as if a glass of cold water were poured on her head.

"What?"

"Look. He's already losing." He told her as he sat up gripping her arm. She swallowed.

"After Blaze finishes the battle, I want you to do battle with him." Taven told her.

"What? Why would I fight Kenshi?" she asked him, her eyes still glued to Blaze's opponent.

"Not _him_. I meant Blaze." Taven shook his head and removed his armor.

"Why me?"

"Look to your left."

Sub-zero reluctantly tore her eyes away from Kenshi and set them on the two who were fighting at her left. She recognized Shang Tsung almost at once. But who was he fighting? He seemed vaguely familiar.

Red pants.

Red headband.

She gasped as she realized who it was.

It was Liu Kang.

"Why not let Liu Kang fight Blaze?" she asked Taven. "He's the champion of the Mortal Kombat tournament." The half-god took his time in answering.

"His soul is tainted." He finally replied. "I noticed that somebody haphazardly resurrected him without a second thought. Look." And she did. "His skin is pale blue. Rotten flesh."

Sub-zero groaned.

"And I doubt you'd want that sorcerer, Shang Tsung, to fight Blaze." Taven looked at her. "You're the only one."

"What about you?"

"In my weakened state, I can't even come _close_ to defeating him." He shook his head. "Although father told me I was supposed to do it…I know I wouldn't be able to do so."

"…All right. I'll fight him. Though I can't say I am definitely going to win." She frowned. "I have a wound in my stomach, and two broken ribs; my chances of winning aren't exactly high."

"Wear this." Taven shoved his armor into her hands. She raised her eyebrow at it.

"Taven. I'm not a guy anymore. I_ think_ this armor is a little too big and heavy for me." She looked at him pointedly.

"It'll fit you, I promise." He gave a reassuring smile. "And what do you mean 'You're not a guy anymore'? You were a guy before?"

Sub-zero sighed and shrugged. She stood up and took the armor and put it on. To her surprise, Taven was right. The armor somehow shrunk and fit her perfectly.

"See. I told you." Then, he shot a fireball towards Sub-zero's direction and Sub-zero ducked. She shot Taven a look.

"What was _that_ for?" She stood up, hands on her hips. Without a word, Taven pointed to her back. She turned around. After seeing what was behind her, she suddenly wished that she didn't turn around.

Noob Saibot was on his knees and smoke was coming from his body. She could only assume that it was from the fire ball that hit him. Sub-zero drew her sword.

"Brother." Sub-zero said coldly as the wraith stood up and took on an offensive stance.

"_Little _Brother." He said mockingly. Sub-zero's stare turned fierce. Just as she was about to attack, somebody stepped in front of her.

"Noob Saibot." Scorpion said vehemently. "Your battle is with me."

"Oh?" Noob Saibot cocked his head to the side. "I thought our battle was finished when you decided to _kill_ me back in that tournament."

"Really?" Scorpion laughed harshly. "Seeing that you're still alive, my work isn't done yet." His hair swayed in the light breeze. Sub-zero noticed that he had taken off his ninja hood. "Sub-zero." He called her, catching her attention.

"Scorpion?" she looked at him.

"Go." He told – commanded – her.

She gave him a sharp nod and looked over at Taven. He was holding out his sword.

"It's all right. I have my sword with me." She told him. He shook his head.

"Take it." Taven said. "This sword will help you defeat Blaze. After all, this is its sole purpose." He glanced at the two who were fighting. "The armor is a catalyst. Once you defeat Blaze, this will determine what will happen to the realms." He glanced at her.

Sub-zero took the sword from Taven's hand. Like the armor, it adjusted itself to suit her built. It was just as heavy as her Kori Blade and as easy to use.

"Don't worry; I'll fend off anyone coming up the mountain. Go, and may the Elder Gods watch over you." Taven made a slight nod, which, Sub-zero thought, was supposed to be a bow, and stood up.

She nodded. "I'll do my best."

As Sub-zero reached the summit, Kenshi was thrown off the platform by one sweep of Blaze's arm.

"Kenshi!" Sub-zero yelled after him. It was a long way down, but as she looked down, Ermac was able to levitate him before he collided with the ground. Sub-zero breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards her opponent.

If there were a word close enough to describe Blaze it would be terrifying. His element was fire, and Sub-zero's was ice. How could she compete with it? Yet, she promised Taven she would do her best. She looked at him seriously.

"Face me, in Mortal Kombat!" Blaze roared before charging towards Sub-zero.

Sub-zero took on her stance.

Yes, she had finally decided. She would defeat Blaze…even if it cost her her own life.

**A/N: Oh GOD. T.T I don't even know where to begin. Well, again, I am really, really, really, really, really, sorry for not updating three weeks ago. God. When I was starting to write this chapter, I was like, 'Damn. How the hell do you write an action sequence?' I had no fudging idea! It took me this long to come up with this. :P *Sigh* Oh well. I know it's not very good but I'm actually happy with this chapter. :D Hehe. I'll try to finish this story as soon as I can. I'm working on the next chapter now. :) I hope you guys enjoy this! I think this is the longest chapter I have ever made. :D**

**Please, leave a review! As usual, all anonymous reviews are welcome! :) **

**P.S. If you have any ideas for Sub-zero and Blaze's fight, don't hesitate to tell me. :) I'll take them into consideration. :D Thanks! **


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29**

Their arena was like an oven. Sub-zero wiped her face on her tunic after evading Blaze's attack. They were fighting in an open arena but the air around her was thick. The heat radiating from Blaze did nothing to help her.

She whirled her sword around her, as if testing it, and ran towards Blaze. She jumped high up in the air and brought Taven's blade down on him. Before she could hit Blaze, however, Sub-zero was thrown back by one sweep of his arm. She landed on her back.

"Damn." Sub-zero groaned as she sat up, massaging her head briefly.

As she did, Blaze situated himself a few feet from her and thrust one arm in front of him. Sub-zero's eyes widened as fire balls started appearing on his hand and shooting towards her. Still in a sitting position, Sub-zero crawled backwards while trying to deflect some of the fire balls that were sent her way. Ten or eleven fire balls later, Blaze stopped and jumped high up in the air. Sub-zero pushed herself up, evaded Blaze as he came crashing down on her, and slashed him.

He roared out in pain, and to Sub-zero's surprise she, too, gasped in pain. She jumped backwards and saw minor burns on her exposed flesh. She looked at the gash on Blaze's chest. Lava was flowing from it.

_Great. Just perfect. _She thought sarcastically. _First, Reptile's saliva, now Blaze's blood? Will it ever end?_

She grabbed her weapon tightly as she slashed upwards, and Blaze somehow evaded it.

_How on Earthrealm is he even capable of evading, when he's larger than Onaga? _She frowned. Blaze managed to dodge slash after slash. Sub-zero growled in annoyance. It was supposed to be impossible to move _that_ quickly if one was larger than Dragon King.

Sub-zero's next attempt was successful as she was able to wound Blaze. She froze the drops of lava which almost splattered on her bare skin. She lunged towards him, but he caught, with both hands, the blade inches away from his face.

Sub-zero grabbed her sword with both of her hands and froze the sword with her cryomancer abilities. Blaze's hands started to grow darker, a sign that the lava in his hands was cooling. He tilted the blade sidewards, prying it out of Sub-zero's hands, and threw it high up into the air. Sub-zero blasted ice towards Blaze's face and, when he was distracted, leapt, grabbed her sword and slashed him across the chest as many times as she could.

Blaze staggered back and roared once more before leaning forward and forming himself into what Sub-zero thought, looked like…

"A ball?" Sub-zero voiced her shock out loud. It was so ridiculous. But when Blaze came rolling towards her like a bowling ball towards the bowling pins, all thoughts of its being ridiculous were replaced by thoughts of getting killed there and then. She formed a wall of ice in front of her in hopes that it would be strong enough to block his attack.

Her hopes let her down.

Blaze destroyed her ice shield and Sub-zero was thrown off the arena. Sub-zero plunged her sword into the side of the pyramid, to prevent her from falling a great distance away from the top. She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached upwards to grab on to the edge of the arena.

She retracted her hand as soon as it reached the stone and looked down to find the man who threw the fireball at her. Her eyes found Kobra, who was tackled to the ground by Scorpion before he could throw more fireballs towards her. Sub-zero focused her attention to climbing back up.

She pushed herself up and finally got back into the arena in time to see Blaze fighting Dairou. She wanted to go and get rid of him, but Sub-zero heard Taven yell in pain. She looked down and saw Mavado thrust his hooksword through Taven's shoulder. She wanted to go down and help Taven…but she promised him that she would fight Blaze.

Two chained hooks appeared from behind Mavado and pierced his shoulders. The Red Dragon warrior, momentarily distracted, let go of his weapons and tried, in vain, to remove the claws from where they were impaled on both of his shoulders. Taven took this time to pull Mavado's (or Kabal's) hooksword from _his _shoulder. He put his hands on Mavado's chest and set him on fire.

"Taven!"

He looked up and nodded at her. Liu Kang, the one who had impaled the chained hooks on Mavado, threw him off the pyramid and watched in satisfaction as he screamed all the way down.

"We can handle this! Just go and continue your fight with Blaze!"

_I doubt that._ Sub-zero thought. He was injured badly. Taven could barely stand up a while ago. _At least he has Liu Kang and Scorpion to help him. _

Sub-zero turned her attention back to Blaze, who had just thrown Dairou from the pyramid. Sub-zero did not even want to know how the man would look like after colliding with the ground. Blaze turned to her and raised his hands above his hand and formed them into fists. He promptly brought them down on the ground, which caused Sub-zero to fall on her behind.

The whole pyramid shook because of Blaze's attack. Sub-zero could hear the screams of those who fell from it. She stood up and turned around as she heard familiar footsteps behind her. Upon reaching the arena, Sektor extended one arm and shot rockets at her.

Sub-zero raised her hands, froze the rockets before it hit her and jumped out of the way to evade Blaze as he came charging towards her. Sub-zero looked over to where Sektor was standing and saw Cyrax grab him from behind and both rolled down the pyramid while trying to hit each other.

Blaze turned around and faced her. His face, which Sub-zero thought harbored the same expression all the time, looked like it was glowing. Sub-zero gulped. Blaze leaned forward and opened his mouth. Sub-zero's expression turned into that of horror as fire emerged from his mouth and shot towards her.

Sub-zero raised her arms in front of her and shot ice to negate the fire. Yet, the ice turned to water because of the extreme heat. It frustrated Sub-zero to no end that Blaze was such a powerful opponent. Sub-zero's concentration broke when a knife hit her in the back. She dodged to the side to avoid getting roasted alive by Blaze's fire. She reached to her back, grabbed the handle of the dagger and pulled it out.

As Blaze was momentarily distracted by Rain who blasted him with water, Sub-zero turned around to face her opponent. She was clad in leather, both black and red and her red hair was up in pig tails. Sub-zero ducked as she threw another knife at her, and froze the floor beneath Kira. She did her best to keep her balance but still ended up slipping and falling from the top. Sub-zero shook her head. She wasn't much of an opponent.

She was staring at Blaze as he threw Rain from the pyramid, and was unable to dodge Quan Chi's attack. Sub-zero was sent plummeting to the ground, face first. Sub-zero pushed herself upright and faced the necromancer.

"You!" she accused him. "You're the reason I'm like this!" she gestured to her body. The necromancer smirked and surveyed her body from top to bottom. Sub-zero felt violated as he did.

"Well," he grinned at her manically. "Would you consider being my _slave_ after this fight is over, then?"

Sub-zero looked at him in disgust and formed her Kori Blade in her left hand as Quan Chi drew both of his swords. It wouldn't be fair to fight with only one sword while your opponent had two.

Quan Chi charged towards Sub-zero and slashed downward with one blade and upward with the other. Sub-zero blocked both of his attacks, crouched and kicked his shin. The sorcerer staggered back, and glowered at Sub-zero. He threw something at her, (it looked like a green skull to Sub-zero) and she was thrown a few feet back as it hit her.

Sub-zero rolled to the left as Blaze jumped and landed on the spot where she once was. He spotted Quan Chi and turned his attention to him. Sub-zero sat up and winced at the pain in her chest. She had been trying to ignore her broken ribs, but it proved to be a difficult task.

She ran towards Quan Chi and slashed him from behind while he was defending himself from Blaze. It wasn't exactly what Sub-zero would call a 'fair fight', but the sorcerer decided to interfere with her battle and he needed to be dealt with. Quan Chi kicked her and, at the same time, stabbed Blaze with one of his swords. He backed away from Blaze and turned to Sub-zero as she called his name.

"Quan Chi!" she growled, her patience growing thin. "I will give you once chance to get out of this arena and stop interfering with my battle."

Quan Chi merely 'hmphed' at her and turned towards Blaze who was currently fighting a female Shokan.

Her patience ran out. She jumped at Quan Chi from behind and the two rolled across the arena kicking and punching each other. Their swords were thrown a few feet away from them. Sub-zero ended up on top and she pinned Quan Chi firmly on the ground. She formed a dagger in her hand and tried to hit Quan Chi's head with it. The sorcerer moved his head away from the sharp weapon and delivered a punch to Sub-zero's face. He took this opportunity to pin Sub-zero down, reversing their positions.

"As much as I want to know what is under your Lin Kuei uniform, Sub-zero," Quan Chi breathed, "I have no time for you. So I just have to-,"

"Quan Chi!" somebody called him. He turned his head only to be hit by a fireball. Sub-zero rolled away as Quan Chi's grasp loosened. Sub-zero stood up and glanced over to her savior.

"That was for Orin." Taven smirked triumphantly but he fell to his knees. Sub-zero rushed to his side.

"Are you all right?" she helped him up.

"Just a little dizzy." Taven clutched his shoulder. Sub-zero frowned at his pain. "Blood loss."

Sub-zero did notice that he was bloody from head to toe.

"Maybe you should-,"

"Rest?" Taven finished for her. "Think again, warrior." He grinned at her. Sub-zero shook her head at his words. They were almost the same as what she told him when he invaded the Lin Kuei Temple. "I will take care of Quan Chi. You take care of Blaze."

Taven turned to the half-burnt necromancer. He picked up his swords and charged towards Taven.

Sub-zero picked up Taven's and her swords and waited till Blaze finished off Sheeva. He swept her off the arena with one long arm. Blaze turned towards her and Sub-zero readied her blades.

He roared before running towards her. Every step he took shook the pyramid. Blaze brought his right arm down at Sub-zero and she raised both of her swords to block it. He withdrew his arm and proceeded to punch her using his left one. Blaze's arm managed to scrape Sub-zero's arm because of its rough exterior.

Sub-zero crouched as Taven's fireball almost hit her and jumped up as Quan Chi tried to sweep her off her feet.

"I thought you were going to take care of him?" Sub-zero asked Taven as he sprinted to her side.

"I just did." He nodded at Quan Chi's half-burnt body.

Taven's fireball found its mark on Quan Chi as the sorcerer was distracted by Blaze's sudden appearance beside him. Blaze grabbed Quan Chi and crushed him in his hands. The sorcerer passed out and he was cast aside by Blaze.

"Continue your fight." Taven gave her a light slap on the back and ran (limped quickly) back to where he was fighting off those who were climbing the pyramid.

Sub-zero tightened her grip on Taven's blade and froze it. She charged towards Blaze. She ducked as his arm came swinging towards her head and jumped as the other tried to knock her off her feet. She crossed her blades and proceeded to cut Blaze across his chest. The ice coat in both of her blades cooled the lava, not letting any splatter on her. She jumped backwards and frowned at the 'X' mark on his chest.

_He has to have a weakness. A heart…or something. _She thought as she jumped high in the air and impaled her sword on Blaze's head. He roared in pain and grabbed Sub-zero. He threw her across the arena. She landed on her feet, this time, and smirked triumphantly as she did.

_Maybe…_

Sub-zero ran across the arena, directly towards Blaze and with a forward spinning jump to avoid his arms, she plunged both of her swords into Blaze's chest, right in the middle of the "X" mark. As Blaze roared out in pain, Sub-zero focused all her energy and proceeded to freeze (or cool) Blaze's blood using her swords as a medium.

She heard Taven's screams of agony as a sword slid through his stomach; Scorpion's yells of pain; Liu Kang's growls of annoyance. She focused her powers on freezing. When she saw that Blaze's chest was darker than the rest of him, she tightened her grasp on both of her swords and dragged them down his chest.

_It's like cutting through rock,_ Sub-zero thought.

As the both blades reached the end of his chest, Sub-zero took them out and kneeled to evade Blaze's final attempt to injure her (not that his previous attempts didn't work). Blaze was shaking uncontrollably by now. Sub-zero could not determine what was happening until he let out a thunderous and prolonged "NO!" and exploded into tiny pieces.

Sub-zero yelled as she felt Blaze's power pass through her. It was as if she were being burned alive. She let out a gasp as the energy passed through the entire crater. She breathed heavily and stood up as she heard somebody running towards her. She turned and saw Taven, looking exactly as he was when she first saw him. He was drenched in blood a while ago so how'd he get so clean?

Taven bowed at her.

"The forces of Darkness have gone back to their respective realms. Though that war isn't over yet, this battle has clearly been won by the Forces of Light." He told.

"How'd you get so clean?" Sub-zero asked him. It was a random question, but she could care less. He smiled at her widely.

"As the power Blaze's passed through my armor, I became a full god and my clothes became clean again." He laughed, and then abruptly, his expression turned confused. "Though I wonder why _I _became the full god _and _Protector of Edenia, when _you_ defeated Blaze."

"I'm human!" they heard someone say in surprise. Looking down, they saw Scorpion a few feet below them, feeling his flesh. Then, someone from below called his name. He looked down and gasped. "My clan!" he sounded genuinely happy. True enough, Sub-zero and Taven saw a multitude of people in yellow at the base of the pyramid.

"How is this possible? Blaze's power should give _you_ something you want." Taven turned to her as they heard Kitana squealing in joy at Liu Kang as he reverted back to his normal self. Somewhere below them, Kenshi was expressing his utter disbelief at being able to see again.

Sub-zero took off Scorpion's mask and smiled at him serenely.

"It's quite simple…" she said. "I wished for my friends' happiness."

Taven's mouth formed into an 'O' and after his shock faded away, he hugged her.

"But…what about you?" he asked her.

She shrugged.

"I'll live."

"You're not a man?" she heard Scorpion say from behind her. She whirled around to face him. He slowly walked to where she was standing.

"You're clan's back." She didn't answer his question. It was rhetorical anyway.

"So they are." He answered.

"Good for you." Sub-zero's knees buckled as she if the fatigue from her battle simply crashed on her shoulders. She fell forward. Before hitting the ground, however, Scorpion caught her.

"Sub-zero. Are you all right?" he asked her. The world was spinning. She was so just so tired, so worn out.

"Grandmaster!" Hanzo approached the two of them, one hand on his still bleeding stomach. "Is she all right?"

"I don't know kid." Scorpion set her on the ground. Sub-zero forced her eyes open. She saw Hanzo peer at Scorpion's unmasked face and heard him gasp.

"Hanzo-aniue?" he sounded surprised. Sub-zero had no idea what this "aniue" might be, but Hanzo obviously recognized Scorpion and he was taken aback as well.

"What? What did you call me?" Scorpion answered him in the same tone.

"Ha-Hanzo aniue…you…are you, my brother?" he asked him. Hanzo took his mask and ninja hood off. Scorpion's eyes widened as he saw him. His jaw was hanging from his mouth.

"Ryu?"

At that moment, Sub-zero thought that the two would hug each other and cry. She was wrong.

"You idiot!" Scorpion hit Hanzo's head. "What the hell were you thinking, becoming a Lin Kuei?"

"It wasn't _my_ fault that mother and father died! I had nowhere else to go!" Hanzo returned the jibe.

"You're a part of the Shirai Ryu clan! If some of the other Lin Kuei had found out, you could have been killed! Don't you use your brain at all?"

"I'm not a little kid, Hanzo aniue! Plus, I had no idea _I _was part of the clan!"

"Really now? You're still _my_ younger brother." He emphasized. "And to think you accused me of killing _your_ parents when they're mine, too!"

"How should I know that you didn't?"

"Well, how do you know it wasn't her?" Scorpion pointed at Sub-zero. "Or him?" he pointed at Taven. "You can't just guess. I could've killed you!"

"No. _I _could have killed _you._" Hanzo countered.

"You're far too inexperienced to defeat me." Scorpion folded his arms. "Besides, you have little control over your fire powers." He sighed. "I don't even know why you have ice abilities."

"Oh? You want to settle this here and now?" Hanzo challenged him.

"It wouldn't be a fair fight." Scorpion glanced at his still bleeding stomach.

"Hmph. You're just afraid I would be able to beat you."

Scorpion rolled his eyes at him and Hanzo did the same thing.

"I knew you two were related." She breathed. The pain in her chest was unbearable. She was also tired to the bone after fighting Blaze.

"By the way, why haven't you turned back into your old self?" Scorpion asked her after Fujin had called Hanzo.

"Because…I wished for my friends' happiness..." Sub-zero let a small smile grace her features. "Not my own-What do you think you're doing?" she asked as Scorpion lifted her up in his arms.

"I am carrying you, is that not obvious?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Don't you even care what your wife thinks?" she asked him.

"My _clan _was resurrected, not my family."

"But, but I wished for your happiness! They, too, should have come back." She looked at him guiltily. Scorpion looked directly at her. His pupils were back. They were dark brown in color.

"Maybe, my family isn't what I need to make me happy." He told her simply.

"Then what…" she trailed off as she noticed the look in Scorpion's eyes. "No…"

"Why not?"

"Because I was once a guy, I'm the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei and most of all, we're sworn enemies!" Sub-zero exclaimed to him, a tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks as she ticked her fingers.

Scorpion leaned towards her, his lips almost touching hers. She could feel his warm breath on her face, and it enhanced the blush on her face.

"Frankly, my dear," he smiled that smile she longed to see on his face. "I don't give a damn." He closed the gap between their lips. Timidly, Sub-zero returned the kiss.

As she leaned her head against Scorpion's chest, and watched the sun set behind the mountains, she knew that even though she had wished for her friends' happiness, she felt as if she was the happiest one among them. She closed her eyes contentedly. Before she slept, she heard Scorpion whisper to her.

"You make me want to be a better person." Then he kissed her forehead. A smile graced Sub-zero's features.

"I love you, too."

**FIN.**

**A/N: I think that this is the most cliché ending I could ever think of. Hahaha. Oh well. Sorry to MortalKombatant19, I didn't have the heart to kill Hanzo off. :P So, my friends, this is where this story ends. :) THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! **

**LEAVE A REVIEW! PLEASE. :)**

**Btw, be prepared for a VERY VERY LONG Author's Note! I'm going to be posting it as the next Chapter. :)**

**Thank you! **

**~N. Heisenburg.~**


	30. Chapter 30: A LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Chapter 30: A VERY LONG Author's Note. :)**

OoooooooO

Hey guys! What's shaking? Hahahaha. :D So, the fanfic's finally finished! YAY me! :D God, I didn't think it would reach 29 chapters. :P As most of you know, this is actually the first fanfiction that I have ever written! :D And I am so happy that there are actually people out there who enjoyed it! :D I'm seriously happy! :D And surprised, actually. I never thought anybody would actually _wait_ for me to update this story. :P That being said, I would like to thank those people who have supported me as I was writing this fanfic.

First of all, I'd like to thank **my brother, Jiggy**. :D Without him, I could not have finished the fanfic. He made the last fight, I only wrote it. :P

Thank you, **YourFan,** for being the first one to review this story. :D Thanks so much. :)

Thank you, **ViciousViper15**, you actually are my most frequent reviewer. :D You wrote me fifteen reviews! Thanks so much! And you also have been supporting me on dA! :D

Thank you, **PurpleStar213**, you are my second most frequent reviewer. :) You were one of the first to review this story, and I thank you for doing so. :D

Thank you, **Gancena,** :) You have reviewed my fanfic ever since you started reading it, (I think, LOL). You gave me nine reviews and I am grateful to you. :D You gave me tips on how to write action sequences too! And you also supported me on dA! :D Thanks so much!

**BuggaBoo** and **Shotokan** are two of the first ones who wrote reviews for this fanfic! And until now, they still are leaving reviews. Thanks so much!

These five people are the reason why I have continued on writing this story. They have shown so much support. Thank you, really. I mean it. :')

To **CharNobyl, Emperor K. Rool**, and **MortalKombatant19,** thank you so much for giving me tips on how to improve my writing. Thanks for telling me my weaknesses. I am trying to remedy them. :D I really appreciate all that you have told me and I have kept your suggestions in mind. :D

**Shinigami Hollow**, I know you had a different name back when you were still reviewing for this fanfic. :P I think it was something like Kitsune-Neko-Ichi? Or something like that. :P Though you aren't reviewing anymore, I am still grateful that you have written twelve reviews for this fanfic! You are also one of the reasons why I kept writing this story! :D Thanks so much!

**SasuHina64, **thanks for all your nice reviews! :) You have shown me so much support! I was very happy when you told me that you and your brothers loved this story. :) Thank you! :D

**Juan/Jose, **(Connie) Thank you for reviewing my story. :D I miss you, Connie! :P Thanks for taking time out of your busy sched to actually read this. :) Connie.

**Lovely-Shadow, **thanks for all your nice reviews! (Ten to be exact) I really appreciate them! :D

**Anadrien**, thanks for all your encouragement! :D Thanks for reviewing this story! :D

To **Need2Scream, meteor prime, RSWDW, Irish-Potato-09, Violet, TheRedFredDeadDude, Fire-Dragon10, Mivi, Forever, Bupp, enishi's highschool sweetheart, xXChenairyXx, Kelly marsh 23, Scorpionluv, , AyameKitsune, Vexx West, Christie, Lightning_Warrior, Ami, Ranma Matsuri, darkeststar23, soulfulbee, zarien, Riddleboxbaby, Iforgotmypassword, **THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS. I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THEM. :)

All right! :D Since that's done, I'm going to tell you some things about this fanfic. :D

*I actually intended to kill Sub-zero in the end of the story. But I didn't have the heart to kill my favorite character, so I gave him/her a fluffy ending instead. :P

*Hanzo was supposed to be Scorpion's son, but then I realized that I actually made Sub-zero only 7 years older than him, and Scorpion was about 3 years older than Sub-zero. And Scorpion could not have had a son when he was 10 years old! :P

*I was thinking of pairing Sareena with Hanzo, but they just don't go together. XD

*During the final battle, I was going to make Blaze use a sword, but I thought it was corny. And too non-cannon. :D

*If anyone's wondering, Frost did die. I hated her. :P Sorry to all Frost fans out there, but I don't share your enthusiasm. :P Mavado died too. :D

*I was going to let Kenshi end up with Ermac but I can't write yaoi. :D And I didn't want any of them to be turned to woman, so, Kenshi ended up with Li Mei. But Li Mei and Kenshi do make a cute couple. :D

*Although I didn't write it in the end, Sareena ended up with Reiko. Hahaha. Yes, I'm sorry, but I like them together. :D

*I never mentioned Shao Kahn in the final battle. T.T God, what was I thinking? LOL.

*If anybody's wondering what happened to Kung Lao and Jade, I'm going to post a one-shot about it. It's for ViciousViper15.

*At one point in time, I actually thought of turning Sub-zero back into a guy and resurrecting Scorpion's wife and son. But then I thought that the whole fanfic would be a waste if they didn't end up together. :P

*If you haven't guessed by now, I am a Taven Fan. :D I like him waaaaaay better than Daegon. :D Weren't you wondering why he didn't die even if he was a bloody mess? I just couldn't do it. :P

*I know I didn't incorporate MK:D and MK: Deadly Alliance quite right, but I never got to play those games. I just read the summary from Wikipedia. Hehehe. :D

*Sorry for the two-month delay in updating. GOD. I was a graduating student and they made us do some sort of research. T.T And I did most of the research by myself because my group mates didn't help me much. Curses. Oh well. :P Plus, I was soooo nervous because the entrance exam results were going to be released. Haha. I'm so happy I passed! :D :D :D

*Ahem. Sorry for rambling again. Hehe.

*If you have questions about the fanfic, don't hesitate to ask. :D

Before I go, I would like to ask your opinion on a story I might write some day. (Note! SOMEDAY. Cause I might be really busy when I enter college.) I thought about gender bending again. AND SubScorp again. But this time I thought Scorpion should be the girl. :D

So Summary:

In exchange for doing them a great service, the Elder Gods decided to grant Scorpion his wish, to turn human again. After the process, Scorpion noticed the catch. One, he was a woman. Two, he was in a very cold place. Three, he was twenty three years old again. And four, he was standing beside a twenty-year old Sub-zero.

So basically, he became a girl and he ended up in the past. :D Hehehe.

Clarification: I most probably will not write this. I'm going to be busy when I enter college. Plus, it's very difficult to actually write a genderbend fanfic (for me). And when I think that Scorpion's going to be the girl, it might just get more difficult. But it's a challenge. I might write a SareenaReiko in the future. XD I like them together.

So…yeah. That's about it. Hehe. I'm not so sure if I'm going to write it, though. I think that it might get too…I dunno…redundant because it's SubScorp again AND it's gender bending again.. :P

But I am going to post two one-shots in the near future.

1st: Li Mei/Kenshi for Purplestar213.

2nd: Jade/Kung Lao for ViciousViper15.

Hee hee. That's about it. Thank you for all your support, guys! :D I really, really appreciate it! :) Love you all! :D

**EDIT:**

**OH HI GUYS, it's me! (obviously) Check out the poll on my page. :P I'm asking what pair I should write next. (or whether I should write a sequel or not. ;D)  
**


	31. Chapter 31: News and Poll, Subbie speaks

"Is the camera rolling?" a girl leaned forward and tapped the lens.

"Sub-zero, _please_ get your ugly face off it."

The one called Sub-zero huffed at the camera man. "Shut up, Johnny. I do _not _have an ugly face. Heck, if I were a man, and I'd met my girl self, I'd bet that I'd try to ask me out...No-wait, that didn't make sense..."

"Yes well-"

"The point is, that I _am _pretty. And not ugly like you claim I am. Scorpion said that last night while he was making-"

"TOO MUCH INFORMATION!" Johnny cut her off, not wanting to know what Scorpion was _'making'. _

The Lin Kuei Grand master huffed yet again and folded her arms across her chest. "How rude! I was just going to say that he said that while he was making _dinner_!"

"Oh," Johnny sighed. "That's a relief...anyway, I think you should know that the camera's rolling."

"WHAT?" she all but shrieked. "YOU MEAN OUR WHOLE CONVERSATION'S BEING BROADCASTED OVER FFNET?"

"By all means, Subbie, continue making a fool out of yourself." he rolled his eyes. In an attempt to regain whatever was left of her dignity, Sub-zero straightened and brushed imaginary dust out of her clothes.

"Well...erm...hello there faithful readers!" she addressed the audience. "First off, the author would like to thank everybody who has read and reviewed this story...even though the summary was utter crap and the plot holes were gigantic." she added in an undertone.

"HEY!" Natashaheisenburg poked her head out the door to her room. "I HEARD THAT!"

"Whatever," Sub-zero rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "As I was saying-wait, what was I saying?"

"How great Scorpion was in bed," Li Mei piped up from the sidelines.

"Well, yeah, he is quite amazing. I never even knew that bodies bent that way..."

"SUB-ZERO!" Johnny, Kenshi and Ermac shouted all at the same time, probably not wanting-at all-to hear the details.

"Hey, blame Li Mei! She prompted it!" she argued back. "AS I WAS SAYING," she threw a glare at Li Mei, who shrugged, unapologetic, "the author thanks everybody. And she, I quote, would 'give all of you cookies and great big hugs if it were possible', however, since it _isn't, _she 'settles for a great big group hug on the astral plane. And-what the hell is this?" she looked up from her script to glare at the door to natashaheisenburg's room.

"Why?" Kenshi walked up to her. "What does it say?" he grabbed the script and as he read the line, he burst out laughing.

"Well?" Johnny asked.

"It says that 'all female readers get a free kiss from Scorpion and male!Sub-zero, all of course, on the astral plane as well'." Kenshi said in between laughs.

"Give me that," Sub-zero grabbed the paper from the swordsman, flushing scarlet as he continued to howl in laughter. She scanned the next few lines and smirked. "The author also states that two lucky readers would be allowed a one night stand with Kenshi for the girls, or Li Mei for the guys." The couple blanched at her words. "She also says that she is personally bequeathing the Thunder God Raiden to reviewer Gancena, who is also writing 'Open'. (It's basically From A Woman's Point of View told from Scorpion's POV.)"

"Excuse me?" Raiden spluttered in indignation.

"Apart from that, natashaheisenburg also indicates here that she is auctioning off Kenshi, Ermac, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Daegon (though nobody would probably bid), Mavado, Rain, Reptile, Mileena, Kitana, Shujinko (only the Elder Gods know why someone would pick him), Sonya, Jax, Tanya and Reiko."

"Good Grief. She's giving us away?" Sonya growled. "She doesn't even own us!"

"That's right! We belong to Ed Boon! Or Midway or whatever! Not to her!" Kung Lao agreed.

"Guys, chill the hell out," Sub-zero said. "It says here that she'd do it _if_ she owned us, but she doesn't...so that isn't happening."

Collective "AWWW, DARN." from the audience.

"Let's just get to the point, Sub-zero." Johnny said impatiently from behind the camera. "I don't want to miss lunch."

Sub-zero coughed. "All right then. Here's the thing," she addressed the readers, "since this story apparently had gotten a _lot_ of great feedback for a (first) fanfic-"

"Though we're all still surprised it happened." Scorpion added unhelpfully.

"She'd like to know if you want to read more."

"About us? But I'm tiiiiiiired." Kenshi whined.

"Would you rather be auctioned off?" she challenged.

"I guess not."

"So basically, she wants you to go to her profile page and check out the poll. Indicate if you want a sequel or not. If you _don't_ want a sequel, pick which pairing you'd like."

"HOLD YOUR ELDER GODS! THIS POLL SAYS IT'S SHIPPING US WITH KENSHI!" Ermac said in shock. Kenshi's jaw dropped at what he said.

"Well," Sub-zero scratched her head. "It is a possibility...with you two being so close as friends..."

As Ermac and Kenshi shouted profanities at Sub-zero, Scorpion turned to the audience.

"I apologize for this...lack of professionalism displayed by one Ermac. I would just like to reiterate, please visit the poll and answer. The sooner you do, the sooner natashaheisenburg could start on her new story. You might even see me, Kenshi and Johnny naked!" he added on a whim.

Upon seeing the dazed look on the audience's faces, he shuddered dramatically. "That was a joke."

Collective "AWWW, DARN" from the audience.

"So-er-see you in the next installment...hopefully?" Sub-zero smiled at the audience.

"All right, cut!" Johnny announced. "Great, we've finished it. Come on, I'm starving." and he walked out of the studio.

"Er-lunch is ready, I think?" Sub-zero said, and the rest of the kombatants looked at each other before racing out of the room in an attempt to get the best seat at the table.

**A/N: WEEEEEEEEELL, I didn't just want to leave you guys with a note saying 'Check out the poll on my profile!'. So I added this little thing. It's my attempt at being hilarious. I know, awful, right? So anyway, don't forget to check the poll! I love you guys! ;D**


End file.
